


What Do I Call You

by lovesoaked (honeypressed)



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Sugar Daddy, Anal Fingering, Blow Jobs, Boys in Skirts, Dates, Dom Han Jisung | Han, Dom/sub Undertones, Falling In Love, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Frottage, Getting Together, Hand Jobs, Idiots in Love, Lingerie, Love Confessions, Love Languages, M/M, Mutual Pining, Plot With Porn, Rimming, Strangers to Lovers, Submissive Lee Minho | Lee Know, i would argue no angst tbh, kind of character study i guess, minimal angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-12 14:40:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 24,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29386416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honeypressed/pseuds/lovesoaked
Summary: What, is he your sugar daddy?Hyunjin had said in passing, a few hours after Han Jisung transferred ₩60,000 to him.Of course not, Minho thought to himself. He doesn't even know Jisung that well, and they're simply friends who got to know each other through their respective channels. He's sure that Jisung will soon go on his way, and his little puppy crush on Jisung will fade with enough time too.Things, of course, never turn out the way he thinks it will.(hyunjin was right all along.)
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know, side Hwang Hyunjin/Seo Changbin, side Kim Seungmin/Yang Jeongin | I.N
Comments: 16
Kudos: 293
Collections: MINSUNG FICATHON: Round One; 2020





	1. these carmine feelings

**Author's Note:**

> written for [minsung ficathon](https://twitter.com/minsungficathon/), for prompt #P034: "Young and rich Han Jisung somehow (read: maybe accidentally) becomes broke university student Lee Minho's Sugar Daddy." 
> 
> i have to admit that i interpreted this quite freely, and i changed the plot of this several times because i couldn't settle on something that i liked. i hope that you still enjoy this story!! thank you to [rain](https://twitter.com/roseseungs/) for betaing!! any remaining mistakes are mine only when i made last minute edits ^^

_what do I call you_

_at a moment like this_

_maybe just calling you by your name_

_is the easiest_

* * *

All in all, it is an innocuous package. It’s simply a normal packaged item, the brown box and neat stickered label denoting that it is to be delivered to  _ Lee Minho _ at normal delivery rates, but said Lee Minho glares at the innocent package lying on the coffee table, as if it has caused him some sort of mortal pain. Maybe he shouldn’t have ordered this package; it would have caused him less agony in this moment.

“... Why are you staring at that box like you want to stab it?” Chan asks, slightly apprehensive. He’s holding a cup of coffee, and presumably wants to sit down in the living room as well. 

Minho glares at the box for a while longer, then looks back up at Chan. “I do not want to stab it, hyung. I just… do you have time to spare? This is… kind of a story.” 

Chan sits down beside him, and spares a look at the box . “I don’t want to listen if it's about some nefarious activity or item that you’ve bought again. Changbin won’t shut up about the last time how you tore him apart when he accidentally dropped your newly-bought game.”

“That’s on him,” Minho says dismissively, waving a hand. “Anyway — I was on Twitter a couple days ago —” 

“As you always are.” 

“ _ I was on Twitter a couple days ago _ , and apparently I made some Tweets on my main account that were supposed to be for my private account.”

“What, so your total of 83 followers can see your screenshots from the game you’re playing now?” 

“Wow, you’re so  _ funny _ , hyung. What I was saying is that I posted some screenshot about this character from my game that has such a cool outfit, she wears a corset and all that, and it reminded me of a top I’ve been wanting to buy. So, obviously, I screenshotted the top too, and posted that as a follow-up.” 

“What, someone sent you the top?” Chan asks, clearly joking and not at all expecting a serious answer. 

Minho pauses then, and thinks about how best to frame this. 

“Please don’t tell me someone actually bought the top and sent it to you,” Chan says, sighing and taking a sip of his coffee. 

“Well — he didn’t! He just… sent me way more money than the top costs, and told me I should buy myself something nice,” Minho says, and presses his lips together. He knows that it sounds close to ludicrous, but it’s the truth, and there’s no other way of telling it. “He’s a friend of mine, but we don’t talk often. I really wasn’t expecting anyone to indulge in what I said.” 

“Has this friend of yours sent you money before?” Chan asks, as Minho resumes glaring at the package. 

“Sometimes, when I said I have a Ko-fi so people could leave tips for my channel,” Minho grumbles, “but that was a while ago. He sent me ₩60,000… and then my impulse control left me.” 

“Just long enough to buy the top?” 

“Has anyone ever told you that you’d be successful as a stand-up comedian?” 

“Yes, many times. But really Minho, it’s fine. He sent you the money for whatever reason, and you can spend it on whatever you want,” Chan says, fishing his phone out of his pocket as its ringtone sounds through the relative quiet of their shared apartment. “Think of it as him supporting your YouTube channel as well, or as supplementary living expenses.” 

“I suppose,” Minho murmurs, and sighs. Chan leaves to pick up the call, and he finally reaches for the box. 

He doesn’t really know what had come over him when he ordered the top. Sure, he had been shocked when his friend sent him the money, especially when they hadn’t spoken for a while; he was busy with extra shifts in the coffee shop since it was the summer break, and his friend was busy with an internship. It had certainly been a while, but when they started talking again, the weeks of silence had done nothing to dampen the quality or intensity of their friendship. 

Right on cue, as he’s about to open the damned box, his phone screen lights up with a new notification. 

[ _ Jisungie, 11:09 _ ]

good morning!! 

[ _ Jisungie, 11:09 _ ]

has your top arrived? :DD 

That’s right — he had told Jisung he actually bought the top he wanted with the money Jisung sent him, and here it was, sitting in front of him in the package. It was an expense that he could never really indulge in because he didn’t feel justified spending so much money on something like this, but now with Jisung encouraging him and giving him more money… he tries not to focus on the licks of guilt creeping up in his throat and focuses on opening the package instead. 

The box proves hard to simply open with his bare hands, so Minho has to take it back to his room and search for his scissors to cut the tape away. The top reveals itself in the box, swathed carefully with delicate tissue, and Minho picks it up, smoothing it out carefully as his heart thumps in his heart more heavily with the top right in front of his eyes, within reach.

It is — not a top. He had only said it was a top because he still feels a little awkward saying these things out loud, but this  _ corset _ is beautiful. The website had said that it's designed in a steampunk style, and he runs his fingers delicately over the buckles and studs, and the chains running from front to back. Everything about this is so incredibly  _ gorgeous _ , and his hands tremble as he suddenly feels the urge to try it on.

Minho lays the corset down gently and scrambles to lock his bedroom door, heat rising in his chest. He opens his closet doors next, trying to find something that he can wear the corset with. Eventually, he settles on a silky white shirt he had bought to wear for a dance cover ages ago, and some tight pants he likes to don when he's going the extra mile. 

His hands don’t stop shaking as he swaps his t-shirt and sweatpants for the shirt and pants, and he almost doesn’t want to touch the corset with how pretty it looks. Still, he slowly unlaces the back of the corset and slips it on, positioning it around his torso carefully. 

For all the videos he watched and the numerous measurements he took before buying the correct size, the actual part of lacing himself into the corset feels out of this world. He had practised lacing himself into a corset into other corsets he borrowed previously, but this is his  _ own _ corset, in a style that he loves, and when he is finally done and the corset is laced snugly against his skin, he turns to look in the mirror — 

And,  _ god _ .

His face is a little flushed from excitement and the exertion of lacing himself up, but the corset looks  _ beautiful _ on him, and he almost doesn’t quite recognise himself. His waist looks a lot smaller than it usually is, and he adores the little  _ clinks _ the chains make as he moves around. 

As if he’s operating on autopilot, Minho reaches for his phone next, and he adjusts the lighting in his room as best as he can before he opens the camera app. He tries a few poses in the mirror with his phone held up in front of him, and snaps a few shots as he goes, some more blurry than others. His face isn't in the shots, so he angles the camera up and takes a couple more.

Breathlessly, he sits down on his bed and goes through the photos one by one; he looks  _ good _ in all of them, and his heart is still thumping a little too heavily. The contrast of the corset and its silver details against his white shirt only highlights the corset further, and his thighs look good because of the pants, this is a fact he knows. He's contemplating about posting a picture to his Instagram when a few rapid knocks come at his door; Minho's heart leaps, instinctively shy about someone seeing his corset. 

"Hyung, we're making lunch now! Come out and help us," Changbin calls, and knocks again for good measure. 

"I'll be out in a minute!" Minho says, and wills his heart to calm down. He sets his phone outside, and spares another look at himself in the mirror. He looks so good like this, it would be a shame to just keep this to himself… Deciding he'll post some photos later, he changes back into his house clothes; his shirt and pants are hastily folded and tucked away, but he delicately hangs his corset up and makes sure it's well-settled before closing his closet. 

Just as he's ready to go out and start making lunch with his friends, his phone lights up with another notification. 

[ _ 11:45 _ ] i have to go into the office today TTTTTT 

[ _ 11:45 _ ] apparently there's new information about the case with the barrister i'm working with 

[ _ 11:46 _ ] have a good day hyung~~~ 

Minho doesn't even need to think too far about it. He opens their Kakaotalk log — Jisung has already gone offline — and he swiftly composes a message. He pauses briefly between the pictures that show his face and those that don't, and decides he'll send both anyway.

[ _ 11:48 _ ] good luck with your work!!

[ _ 11:48 _ ] i'm going to make lunch now

[ _ 11:48 _ ] ah, i suppose this is an encouragement to work well?

[ _ 11:50 _ ] [ _ three images attached _ ]

It takes an hour for Jisung to respond, by which time it causes Minho to splutter through a mouthful of fried rice in front of Chan and Changbin.  _ Embarrassing _ , to say the least, but his anticipation about seeing Jisung’s response far outweighs any dignity he might have lost.

[ _ 13:08 _ ] oh fucking hell 

[ _ 13:10 _ ] hyung you look incredible 

[ _ 13:11 _ ] the corset is pretty!!! 

[ _ 13:11 _ ] your blush is really cute 

[ _ 13:12 _ ] i'm having lunch now too >○>

"You're never this happy when you text one of us," Changbin remarks. It's a fair observation to make, but Minho scowls at him anyway, ignoring his lunch momentarily to respond to Jisung. He types out something fast back to Jisung as Chan and Changbin discuss loudly about who he's texting. 

"Clearly Minho likes them," Chan says thoughtfully, a spoonful of rice hovering in front of his mouth, apparently forgotten. 

"Is it someone we know?" Changbin murmurs, and looks at Minho like the name of the person he's texting will suddenly be projected across his forehead. "I don't remember hyung saying he met anyone new lately…" 

"Wait, did he tell you about the guy who transferred him 60,000 won a couple days ago?"

"What?! No, he didn't. Hyung, I feel betrayed!"

"... Well, he's still busy with whoever that he’s with. Minho Tweeted about wanting a shirt the other day, and his friend transferred him the money, so Minho bought the shirt."

"Isn't that guy like a simp?"

"I will pay you to literally never say that again."

"Look," Minho says, interrupting their conversation as he sets his phone down, "he's not a simp, he's a friend of mine. His name is Jisung, and he's got a YouTube channel as well. He's… he's the one I'm texting." 

There's a pause, and then — "Hyung, you're blushing!" Changbin crows with absolute  _ delight _ , and yells when Minho grabs a nearby banana and lobs it in his general direction. Chan laughs at them and goes back into the kitchen to get more food as Changbin whines about how  _ mean  _ Minho is. 

Minho studiously ignores Changbin after making a childish face at him. After all, he has better things to think about — like the picture Jisung had sent him. 

It was a blurry bathroom mirror selfie, but Minho's heart leaps into his throat as he remembers the cut of Jisung's suit and his messy hair. 

[ _ 13:18 _ ] gotta go back to work 

[ _ 13:18 _ ] see you later~ ♡

[ _ 13:19 _ ] [ _ one image attached _ ]

He had responded with a simple ‘ _ you look fine but your tie is loose _ ’, yet Jisung had somehow parsed through that to find there was a compliment within, and he wonders if this was how flustered Jisung felt when he sent the photos of himself in the corset.

“Hey hyung, how do you know this.. Jisung?” Changbin pipes up again, and Minho becomes distracted. 

“I got to know his channel through my friend a couple months ago, because we were looking for an original song to choreograph, and Jisung makes music. We followed each other on Twitter for the exchange and that’s how we met,” Minho replies, and decides to set his phone away for the moment. “We’ve met up a few times to discuss the song, so I’ve actually met him before, for your information.” 

“What’s he like?” Chan asks, and the question is plausibly innocent. Except — there’s a gleam in Chan’s eyes like he knows something that Minho doesn’t. 

“... Why?” 

Chan shrugs. “Nothing. I just happened to remember you telling me about a ‘very cute boy’ who is also called Jisung, who also coincidentally ‘gave your team a song’, and that you might ‘have a crush’ —” 

“That was last year!” Minho cries, but the heat that rises rapidly up his chest to settle in the tip of his ears doesn't help his case. “That was just — I mean, yes it’s the same person — but it’s just a puppy crush! I - I’m not interested. In Jisung.” 

“ _ You’re _ not interested?” Chan asks, but it doesn’t sound like a question. Before Minho can reply, he continues on with, “This Jisung sent you money to support your channel previously, and now he’s giving you what is essentially pocket money for you to spend. He at the very least wants to help you, and appreciates what you do… or maybe just you.”

“And so we’re friends,” Minho finishes for Chan insistently. “We’re just friends, and there’s nothing between us. I don’t have a crush on him anymore.” 

Both Chan and Changbin hum in a tone that suggests they don’t quite believe him, and Minho is left to finish the rest of his lunch. As much as he’s said, he knows that he still has a tender spot in his heart for Jisung, the remnants from the small crush that he once had on Jisung from all those months ago. He doesn’t quite wanto admit this yet — to admit it would only open his heart to like Jisung again, and he doesn’t want or need to misinterpret Jisung’s actions, which he believes are purely out of the kindness of Jisung’s heart. 

He just — doesn’t want to ruin the friendship they have.

Even if they had only really been talking to each other more these couple of days, Minho still cherishes it. Even at this stage, he doesn’t want to lose Jisung’s friendship, however out of proportion this worry of his might be. Even if they only share the little things of their days with each other, Minho can’t help but be happy about it. 

In hindsight, perhaps Chan is right, and his little puppy crush from last year is returning. 

The new, and very recent addition of them sending their selfies to each other doesn’t help with the rapidly returning tenderness in Minho’s heart, not when Jisung keeps sending him pictures of himself dressed nicely in suits, since he’s interning in a law firm. What also doesn’t help is Jisung sending him money for a trivial reason, and then complimenting him on the clothes he bought using  _ his money _ — and well, complimenting Minho too, by extension. Minho doesn’t even know  _ where _ Jisung’s money comes from, and he isn’t quite sure what to feel about the money. 

These thoughts about Jisung linger within him, and it’s with this in mind that he goes to talk to Hyunjin.

[ _ 22:05 _ ] hwang hyunjin

[ _ 22:05 _ ] do you remember han jisung?

[ _ 22:05 _ ] what do you want 

[ _ 22:06 _ ] oh

[ _ 22:06 _ ] the guy who helped us with the song from last time?

[ _ 22:06  _ ] yeah 

[ _ 22:06 _ ] he sent me 60k the other day 

[ _ 22:06 _ ] 60k? 

[ _ 22:07 _ ] ₩60,000

[ _ 22:07 _ ] WHAT

[ _ 22:07 _ ] ?? do you need cash hyung

[ _ 22:07 _ ] i can also help you 

[ _ 22:08 _ ] no

[ _ 22:08 _ ] i’m not

[ _ 22:08 _ ] i don’t need help

[ _ 22:08 _ ] so why did he send you the money? 

[ _ 22:09 _ ] did you see my tweet the other day

[ _ 22:09 _ ] about the corset i wanted? 

[ _ 22:09 _ ] yes? 

[ _ 22:11 _ ] :)

[ _ 22:11 _ ] wait 

[ _ 22:11 _ ] oh

[ _ 22:11 _ ] OH

[ _ 22:12 _ ] you’re also a sugar baby now?

[ _ 22:12 _ ] what

[ _ 22:12 _ ] what do you mean also

[ _ 22:13 _ ] what do you mean sugar baby!!!!! 

[ _ 22:13 _ ] hwang hyunjin!!!!! 

[ _ 22:13 _ ] oops 

[ _ 22:13 _ ] well this isn’t about me 

[ _ 22:13 _ ] anyway is jisung your… ??? 

[ _ 22:13 _ ] no

[ _ 22:13 _ ] he’s just my friend 

[ _ 22:13 _ ] you’re hopeless 

[ _ 22:14 _ ] you sound like when it was last year

[ _ 22:14 _ ] i haven’t forgotten hyung

[ _ 22:14 _ ] whatever

[ _ 22:14 _ ] anyway since you also know him 

[ _ 22:14 _ ] why would he send me money for this??? 

[ _ 22:16 _ ] do i look remotely like han jisung 

[ _ 22:16 _ ] you’re asking the wrong person

[ _ 22:16 _ ] [ _ Hwang Hyunjinnie shared a link _ ]

[ _ 22:16 _ ] here you can ask him 

[ _ 22:16 _ ] you brat did you send me his twitter profile

[ _ 22:17 _ ] the next time i see you you’re done for

[ _ 22:17 _ ] good to know ^^ 

Talking to Hyunjin leaves Minho with more questions than answers. He can’t begin to understand why Jisung would send him so much money in the first place, and now he has to grapple with the fact that Hyunjin is apparently a sugar baby. It doesn’t change what he thinks of Hyunjin — but it's certainly a shock, and Hyunjin had assumed  _ he _ was a sugar baby because of Jisung.

Is he then? Is he... a sugar baby? Surely not — Jisung had only sent him money a couple of times, and it wasn't like he was  _ asking _ for the money, after all. Besides, he's got better things to worry about, like how their fridge is empty and he really should go grocery shopping tomorrow after work. 

Work at the coffee shop is as normal as it can be, but it is a little dull; his friend, Seungmin, isn't on the same shift as him for the summer holiday, and he doesn't really know the person he's on shift with that well. The half-day goes by quickly, and he bids a fast goodbye to his coworker before he leaves for the supermarket, pulling his grocery list up on his phone. 

Minho spends more time thinking about Han Jisung in the supermarket — of course he does. He doesn't need to worry too much about how much the total will add up to be, and it's because of the extra money he's got from when Jisung sent him the ₩60,000. He browses through the aisles, hovers between choosing some different flavours of cereal, and wonders if Jisung really does just give out his money in this way to his friends and acquaintances. He had looked through Jisung's profile on YouTube and Twitter, and all it said that he was 21, was going to university, and did some music on YouTube on the side. It was pretty much as barebones of an account as it could get, and Minho would have been convinced it was a bot account if it weren't for that his Twitter was peppered full of links to videos that showcased his self-written songs. 

Maybe that's why he's rich, Felix, another friend of his that also knows Jisung, had suggested. He's making money from his videos and so he's spending it on his friends.  _ Remember last time when we met up for the _

_ collaboration? His clothes were the kind that were branded, but in the subtle way.  _

There are so many things to parse from this. He had checked Jisung's videos out again, and they're all in the ballpark of ten to a hundred thousand views, with the odd one having half a million views or so. All in all, Jisung doesn't seem to be doing too bad, but he doesn't know if YouTube ad revenue would indeed make enough money for Jisung to simply deposit so much money into someone's account just because he feels like it. 

_ Hyung, look _ , Hyunjin had said — texted, but small details —  _ if Jisung wants to send you money, just accept it. After all, you can see it as him supporting your dancing career, or him... encouraging your hobbies. And you guys know each other, you aren't strangers. He clearly sees you as a friend _ . 

It was similar to what Chan had told him a couple of days ago, that Jisung wanted to support him. And support he does, because Minho is able to afford better groceries for this week rather than just scour the marked-down groceries in an attempt to save as much money as he possibly can. 

Something like gratefulness and fondness blooms in the left side of Minho's chest, and he fumbles with his card as he swipes the machine to pay for his groceries. He hurries back then, not really wanting to focus on these feelings, but it still ultimately boils down to him staring at his phone after dinner, swiping through his chat log with Jisung. 

_ Should I text him, and thank him for the money again?  _

Minho groans out loud, and rolls over onto his stomach on his bed, burying his face in the pillow. As much as he doesn't want to admit it, he really does think that his crush on Jisung is coming back in full force, and he can already feel the heat creeping up to his ears as he shakily types a message to Jisung. 

It doesn't take Jisung long to respond, and Minho's heart leaps a little when he gets the notification that Jisung has replied. Jisung asks about his day, and in return Minho thanks him again for the money — this only causes Jisung to say that  _ it's really no problem at all _ , and the curiosity about Jisung's generosity piques again. Before he can pursue that line of conversation, Jisung starts talking about university, that he starts in two weeks, and his internship finally ends this week. 

This only reminds Minho that university starts in only  _ a week _ for him, and he congratulates Jisung for finishing his internship. Jisung then reveals he's studying law, and thus is the rest of their conversation for the night. When they stop talking some time after midnight, Minho's tired brain starts to piece some of the puzzles together. 

Jisung, law major, able to afford sending large sums of money to his friends and acquaintances even while in university, always dressed tastefully, and good audio equipment for his channel from the last time Minho met him at the studio. 

Is Jisung a chaebol? 

It would certainly make sense for Jisung to be a chaebol, and explain why Jisung can afford all these things, and with such a casual air. He’s snapped out of his thoughts when his phone just  _ dies  _ in his hands, the audacity, so he gets up to plug it in before deciding he might as well go to bed. Once again, he falls asleep with his head full of thoughts about Jisung and how strangely  _ mysterious _ the man seems to be — but now, his dreams centre around him too. 

* * *

“I think I have a problem,” Minho announces over a bowl of cereal, two days before university is due to start. 

“What’s new,” Changbin mutters under his breath, spooning some instant coffee into a cup. 

Minho ignores him. “I have a problem,” He stresses, and turns to Chan since Changbin doesn’t seem intent on offering comfort at this time of the morning. 

“Let me guess,” Chan starts lazily, running a hand through his hair. “One of your videos got copyright striked?”

Minho waves a hand. “No, we’ve been on a hiatus to rest, haven’t you forgotten? We’re starting filming in a month again, so no, my videos haven’t been striked. Try again.” 

“... Your timetable changed?” 

“No.” 

“Can’t you just tell me?” Chan whines, almost slumping over the table, and Minho gives in. 

“Fine. So. Han Jisung.” 

“What about him?” Changbin asks, suddenly interested and looking over Minho with a gleam in his eyes. 

“I… so I think my crush on him returned,” Minho says, the last of his sentence becoming more and more slurred into his cereal, and he doesn’t meet either of Chan or Changbin’s eyes as he says it.

“Oh, my  _ god _ , hyung you were right!” Changbin says, crowing delightedly, and Chan lets out a loud peal of laughter, looking over at Minho now. “You said Minho never really got over Jisung from last year, and you’re right!” 

“You said  _ what _ ?” Minho asks, scandalised, but the tips of his ears are burning. 

“I’ve known you for a long time, Minho-yah,” Chan says, and his smile softens into something gentler. “For all the crushes I’ve seen you have, you usually don’t get over them until you confess to them so you can move on. You never did that with Jisung, so when you reconciled again, I just thought… it might be possible that you would come to like him again.” 

“Nonsense,” Minho mutters, but he knows that what Chan is saying is true. “Anyway — this is just a crush, nothing more. Nothing’s going to happen anyway, because we’re going to be busy with university.” 

“Or, you could pursue him,” Changbin says, coming to sit with them at the table. “It sounds like he’s interested in you too, if he’s sending you all this money and talking to you so often that your sleep schedule has changed.” 

“And how am I supposed to do that?” Minho asks, quirking an eyebrow. 

“Ah, yes, I forgot you were always the one being pursued,” Changbin says dramatically, and Minho almost knocks his cup of coffee over. “Hey! I was joking — I mean, you just have to flirt with him a little, I’m sure you know how to do that.”

Minho makes a noncommittal noise that suggests he’s thinking about it, and so Chan and Changbin leave him to stare into the depths of his cereal. Sure, he has a crush on Jisung, but does he really want to pursue a relationship? He doesn’t know Jisung that well, and he isn’t sure if he could handle a new relationship when he’s in his third year of university. 

Still… the feelings he has for Jisung aren’t bad. They’re very much good feelings, and he would like to treasure these feelings before they can turn sour. He smiles over at Chan and Changbin who are discussing about buying some audio equipment for their studio, and tries not to think too much about Jisung. 

That, of course, is a task he fails with delight.

* * *

On the first day of university, Minho wakes up with the knowledge he has a class in two hours, and he reaches for his phone like clockwork to check his notifications. There are the usual messages — Jisung had texted him  _ goodnight hyung <3 _ from last night, and then he opens his emails, swiping through the different mailboxes. He really isn’t expecting anything else, but then his personal inbox loads, and — 

[ _ Han Jisung sent you ₩25,000. “good luck money for starting uni again!!! <3” _ ]

Minho blinks at the email. And then — “Motherfucker!” He swears, right at the top of his voice, and scrolls through the email just to check it again.. There isn’t much to it bar from the little note of what is apparently good luck money, and Minho is going to run his words through Jisung like a sword.

[ _ 09:02 _ ] han jisung 

[ _ 09:02 _ ] did you just send me good luck money??

[ _ 09:18 _ ] oh good morning to as well 

[ _ 09:19 _ ] look, treat it like i'm supporting you in your youtube career

[09:19] like for example

[ _ 09:19 _ ] hypothetically u have a paypal and hypothetically u let people (me) drop tips every now and then

[ _ 09:23 _ ] you're giving me the equivalent of a weeks of lunch money in one tip

[ _ 09:24 _ ] okay but consider

[ _ 09:24 _ ] you can get more of those funky clothes you like to wear in the covers

[ _ 09:25 _ ] and u would look so cool hyung

[ _ 09:27 _ ] compelling argument you make

[ _ 09:27 _ ] you're not distracting me from the fact that you dropped ‘good luck money’ in my paypal

[ _ 09:30 _ ] what i'm hearing is that i drop you More Money

[ _ 09:30 _ ] ‘buy funky clothes money’

[ _ 09:30 _ ] if u send me more money i'll be legally obliged to show u my purchases

[ _ 09:30 _ ] oh???

[ _ 09:31 _ ] i won't be opposed to that

Minho squints at the last message Jisung just sent. It seemed… loaded. He takes a moment to himself to think about what that means, and wonders if this is what Changbin means by  _ flirting _ . If Jisung wants to  _ see _ him, see the things Minho could buy because of his money… Minho swallows, and wonders if he’s really about to go through with what he wants to do now. 

Before he can think too much, he opens his gallery and scrolls through his photos until he comes to a set of mirror selfies he had taken a few weeks prior. These photos were also of the corset that he had bought a while back, but this time he had styled it with a dress he had borrowed from Chan, and thrown a choker on for the fun of it. He debates between them, and then sends the one that is most blurry, heart suddenly thumping in his chest.

[ _ 09:35 _ ] i’m fulfilling my legal obligation, mr law person 

[ _ 09:35 _ ] [ _ two images attached _ ]

[ _ 09:38 _ ] hyung

[ _ 09:38 _ ] can i save these photos?

[ _ 09:38 _ ] sure 

[ _ 09:38 _ ] ?? why though

[ _ 09:39 _ ] because you look pretty 

[ _ 09:39 _ ] i want to remember you 

[ _ 09:39 _ ] really you look so good 

[ _ 09:40 _ ] thank you

[ _ 09:40 _ ] does this mean that 

[ _ 09:40 _ ] if i buy things for you

[ _ 09:40 _ ] you’ll wear them?? 

[ _ 09:41 _ ] what

[ _ 09:41 _ ] why would you be buying things for me 

[ _ 09:42 _ ] because you deserve things

[ _ 09:42 _ ] and i want you 

[ _ 09:42 _ ] i mean i want you to have nice things 

[ _ 09:43 _ ] ah

[ _ 09:43 _ ] that’s really nice of you 

[ _ 09:43 _ ] do you do this for all your friends? 

[ _ 09:44 _ ] i mean i just get them things they need if they’re in a tight spot

[ _ 09:44 _ ] but you’re different 

[ _ 09:44 _ ] what?? 

[ _ 09:45 _ ] ah forget it, it doesn’t matter

[ _ 09:45 _ ] just 

[ _ 09:45 _ ] if you ever need anything

[ _ 09:45 _ ] you can tell me

Minho is going to tear his hair out. He’s spent the better part of an hour talking to Jisung, and their conversation has devolved down this strange route; it feels oddly like he’s picked a dialogue choice in a game he usually wouldn’t pick, and now he’s left with a thumping heart and hot ears. He tells Jisung that he has to go and get ready for class, and he sets his phone down, feeling like he’s coming back down to earth.

“I feel like an idiot,” Minho murmurs to himself, pressing his hands to his cheeks and sighing a little. “What are you doing to me, Han Jisung…” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lyrics taken from taeyeon's [what do i call you](https://colorcodedlyrics.com/2020/12/taeyeon-taeyeon-what-do-i-call-you/)


	2. now your blush is coral coloured

details, i love madly in details.

* * *

_ What if you meet Han Jisung at university campus, like in the dramas _ , Hyunjin had teased him after Minho finally admitted to him that maybe, yes, he still did like Jisung, what about it?  _ And you trip in front of him and papers go flying, and he helps to pick you up —  _

_ Shut up! _ Minho had said then, but the tips of his ears were burning a bright red, and both Hyunjin and Felix were giggling in front of him. Despite whatever he had said, it was nice to finally see both of his friends on the first weekend that university started since they had both moved back into Seoul. 

Hyunjin’s words wouldn’t leave his mind, but MInho had shook it out of his head firmly. If Jisung was in the same university as him, surely they would have crossed paths last year; a tiny voice in the back of his head reminds him that he’s switched different buildings for lessons this year, and he’s closer to the law faculty than before, when he was next to the business department. Ah, always his own treacherous thoughts.

Already, it’s been two weeks since he started university. Today is Friday, and he’s started work early. Wednesday and Friday are the only days that he doesn’t have class, and so he works part-time at a coffee shop on campus on those days, along with the weekends. Weekday shifts start earlier, opening at eight in the morning, so Minho’s already changed and sweeping the floor at seven-thirty, watching his coworker and friend, Seungmin, do the same.

“Staring at me isn’t going to help you in your sweeping,” Seungmin says dryly, like he knows Minho is staring off into space. 

“You sure have a lot to say for so early in the morning,” Minho grumbles, and goes back to sweeping. He arranges the tables and chairs as he goes as well; Seungmin busies himself with wiping the counters down and refilling their stock of cups and cup sleeves. Once he’s done with sweeping, Minho empties the dustpan and disappears into the back of the store to roast some coffee beans. 

“I’ll go ahead and open up the store, you can take your time,” Seungmin says, popping his head into the back room. “There’s a bit of coffee left from yesterday that’ll last us for a few orders.”

“I’ll come over once I’m done here,” Minho replies, nodding. Watching the machine roast the coffee is always soothing with its repetitive motion, and he comes out of the back room with his clothes smelling like he doused it in coffee. Seungmin is already serving the earliest customers — students with morning classes, Minho assumes — so he hurries to empty the coffee into the grinders, tipping any leftovers into sealed containers. 

“Two iced americanos, and a green tea latte,” Seungmin repeats verbally, sliding the ticket over to Minho. 

“Got it.” Like clockwork, Minho starts up the coffee machine, hands moving fluidly over the dials of the machine. As espresso fills the cup, Minho grabs two plastic cups and fills it with ice and water before pouring the espresso over it. Just like that, two ice americanos are ready. Then — the green tea latte. He pours a shot of green tea syrup into the cup, and waits as the milk is steamed; then, just like he was taught, he pours the milk into the cup from a height, and comes back down, making a classic latte heart. 

“Order served!” Minho calls, loading the drinks up onto a tray and pushing it out onto the pickup counter.

The next few orders go similarly, and it’s late afternoon when Seungmin and Minho switch so that Minho’s manning the cash register now. A lot of people are ordering fruit lattes, he thinks to himself, as he punches in the third order of a mango latte in the past fifteen minutes. He packages a slice of cheesecake for the same customer as he hears the clink of ice against plastic somewhere behind him. 

“Thank you, please come again!” Minho chirps, as cheerily as he will allow himself to be. There is just half an hour left to their lunch shift, and he sneaks another sip of his iced americano before returning to the till as the bell rings, indicating a new customer has arrived. 

“Welcome, how can I help you?” Minho rattles off, not really looking at the customer, since he’s replacing the roll of paper for receipt printing. It is therefore why he doesn’t notice exactly who is standing in front of him, and so — 

“Minho-hyung?” The voice says, sounding amazed.

Minho’s head shoots up, hands paused halfway in loading the paper. “Who are — Jisung?! What - what are you doing here?” 

Jisung laughs, sounding delighted, and shifts the backpack he’s carrying up more securely by its strap. “I didn’t think I would see you here! It’s so nice to see you again, how are you?” 

“I’m doing okay, you know how it is with university,” Minho replies, smiling and ignoring the heat slowly creeping up the back of his neck. “What would you like to order?” 

“Ah! Can I get a… iced vanilla bean latte, please?” 

“That’ll be 4,600 won please. Are you having it here, or as a takeaway?” 

“I’m having it here.” 

“Your order will be ready soon,” Minho says, and gestures to the side where the pickup counter is so he can serve the next customer. Jisung moves out of the way graciously, but Minho’s mind races at mach two speed.  _ How is he here? Does he study here, in this university too? Why have I only seen him now, I worked here last year as well!  _ Hyunjin’s teasing words come to the forefront of his brain, unbidden, and he curses the fact that he has to actually tell Hyunjin that yes, he did indeed meet Han Jisung on campus, while he was working.

"Iced vanilla bean latte!" Seungmin calls, sliding a glass over to the pickup counter. Minho's hand stills from where he's waiting for the receipt to be printed out, and he tries so hard — _ so hard _ — not to turn around and look at Jisung. Instead, he smiles at the woman in front of him and hands her the receipt, telling her to wait by the pickup counter as well.

As if Jisung is reading his mind, he takes a seat that is in his direct line of sight, and really, who chooses to sit smack in the middle of an empty coffee shop? Han Jisung, that's who. Unable to help himself — or rather, enabled by Jisung sitting directly in front of him, Minho looks up, and catches Jisung's eye. Jisung smiles at him and gives him a little wave; Minho startles and does the same out of instinct, only for Seungmin to come over and elbow him in the waist.

"So, are you going to tell me who that is?" Seungmin murmurs in a low voice so as to not be overheard. The coffee machine is going, brewing espresso, but Minho keeps his voice soft too, just to be safe.

"That's Han Jisung," Minho replies, and pretends to wipe the counters down just to give his hands something to do. "He's my... friend. I didn't know he was studying in this university, though."

Seungmin regales him with a suspicious look. "Why didn't you know that your friend was studying in the same university as you?"

"We met online, through a YouTube collaboration thing for our channels. We weren't really about to divulge personal details like where we go to university." He hesitates then, and Seungmin picks up on his silence.

"Even if he's your friend... your ears are red, hyung. Is he a... special friend, or something?"

"Oh god, I never want to hear you say 'special friend' ever again. I will literally pay you to never speak those words."

"Good, pay up. Also — he's been looking at you this whole time you were talking to me, and there's a customer coming. Keep your head on, hyung."

Trust Seungmin to be so logical, Minho grumbles to himself internally, and slides a ticket for an oat latte across to Seungmin. He grabs a plate and picks out a cinnamon roll for the order as well, loading it onto a tray and passes that to Seungmin as well, waiting for the coffee so the order is completed.

Once he's done, Minho takes his apron off, shuffling around the counter. "I'll take my lunch break now! I'll be back before the rush hour, don't worry."

Seungmin waves a hand, busy with steaming some milk. Minho hangs his apron up in the staff room and stretches, twisting his torso around to relive some of the tension from his body. Lunch is a relatively quick affair, just a sandwich and a coffee that they get for free since they're working here, and then he's back out again.

Before going back behind the counter, Minho circles the front of the coffee shop, picking up any stray cups and litter, and wipes down the tables as well. He would usually do this anyway, but today he's doing it with the knowledge that Jisung is still there, typing away on his laptop and watching what looks like a lecture. He leaves the area where Jisung is sitting until the very last, both nervous about talking to Jisung, and also not wanting to interrupt him.

Jisung, however, makes the choice for him.

As soon as he approaches Jisung, intending to clear away his cup, Jisung takes his earphones out and beams up at him.

"Hyung! Are you on break right now?" Jisung asks, expression so bright that Minho thinks it can only be that bright because of him.

"I just finished my lunch break," Minho answers, balancing the tray on his arm, and hopes the smile he gives Jisung isn't too awkward. "How are you doing?"

"I'm just watching a lecture before my class starts," Jisung says, and then stops to take a breath before plunging on with his next question. "Say, hyung, do you want to grab a meal with me anytime soon? You don't have to! But — I thought it would be nice to catch up with you, not just texting."

Minho thinks his heart has fallen out from his feet. "Oh, I would love to! It would definitely be nice to catch up with you. When are you free?"

"When do you not work?" Jisung asks, pulling his timetable up on his laptop.

"I only work Wednesdays, Fridays, and the weekends, but I have a couple of classes on the other days."

"Then... Monday afternoon?"

"Oh, I have a society meeting then, sorry. Is... is your Thursday evening free?"

"No, sorry, I have a society meeting at that time too... ah — what about Tuesday afternoon? Are you free then?"

"... Yes, I think so. I don't have anything at that time that I can remember."

"This coming Tuesday, lunch time?" Jisung asks, and somehow his smile becomes even brighter.

"That would be great!"

"I'll text you the details on Monday night," Jisung says, nodding. "I think you should go back, hyung. Your coworker looks like they're waiting for you."

Indeed, once he turns around, Seungmin is looking at him, his expression slightly harassed. He hurriedly clears away the remaining few tables, and bids a quick goodbye to Jisung, who waves at him again and mouths  _ good luck, hyung! _ Minho does not stop to think about why that causes his heart to do a funny little jump, nor does he want to stop and think about why it does.

He goes behind the counter, depositing the dirty dishes in the sink and washes his hands quickly before going to fill some tickets.

The lunch hour really settles in now, and Minho goes through the orders in a blur. Iced americanos are the easiest orders to fill, and Minho is glad those are the most common orders; he gets a fair amount of fruit lattes, just as he suspected earlier when he was manning the till, but the colours are refreshing to work with, and he doesn't mind them.

When the lunch hour rush finally dies down and they slump against the counter to take a breather, Jisung stands up as well. Seungmin leaves then to take his lunch break, giving Minho the chance to speak to Jisung once again.

"You worked hard today," Jisung says, as soon as he's within earshot. "That lunch hour rush looked ridiculous."

"It's just the usual people," Minho says dismissively, waving his hand. "Are you leaving now?"

"My class is in ten minutes," Jisung says, and then slides something across the counter. "Here — keep this. I'll see you around, hyung!" Jisung jogs away before Minho can so much as say goodbye, and when he turns to look at what Jisung has given him, he sighs a little to himself.

"He got to you as well?" Seungmin asks, having popped back in to grab the strawberry latte he made for himself earlier. "It's nice of him to leave a tip, I wasn't expecting that."

"It really is," Minho agrees, and takes the 5,000 won that Jisung left for him.

Seungmin leaves again, and Minho is left alone to wash the dishes and stew in his thoughts about Han Jisung. Perhaps he really is getting paid for each time he thinks of Jisung, because the man won't leave his thoughts at all, and Minho tries not to acknowledge the tenderness of his heart as he does so.

Meeting Jisung was... unexpected, to say the least. They hadn't talked about where they went to university out of respect for each other's privacy, and now they're going to have a meal together on Tuesday. Everything just seems so coincidental, but Minho can't help but be happy about it.

He had already been content with his frequent talks with Jisung, content with his little crush, content that he could have an extra little happiness in his days because of Jisung — but his crush suddenly feels like something very real with Jisung's appearance today. Sure, it was one thing to admit to his friends that perhaps he still has a puppy crush on Jisung, but to actually see Jisung and match that bright smile and pretty eyes to the tenderness of his heart... it is all a bit much.

He will think about all of this later when his shift is over. Sure, his mind refuses to let go of the image of Jisung in a simple black t-shirt and jeans, hair pushed back easily, but he forces himself to. He can't just let this one crush take over his whole mind; he is still a person made of many things.

* * *

Minho hasn't told anyone about his meeting with Jisung on Tuesday. It's not like he's worried or ashamed about anything, but it just feels too... real that he's going to meet up with Jisung and they're going to have a meal together. Under the pretense that he wants to look presentable for class, Minho dresses well and adds a touch of makeup; he frets between his earrings before deciding to go for what he usually wears, and dashes out his apartment before he can be late for class.

Jisung had already texted the details of where they're supposed to meet last night. He reopens the message as his lecturer putters around the podium, getting ready to start the class.

[ _ 23:45 _ ] i think you said you wanted to eat hotpot the other day right?

[ _ 23:45 _ ] my friend recommended this place

[ _ 23:45 _ ] [ _ Jisungie sent you a link _ ]

[ _ 23:46 _ ] do you know this place?

[ _ 23:55 _ ] hello!!

[ _ 23:55 _ ] yes i've heard of it

[ _ 23:55 _ ] it's a little pricey though isn't it?

[ _ 23:56 _ ] that's fine

[ _ 23:56 _ ] i'll pay for you since i asked you

[ _ 23:57 _ ] meet you tomorrow at one?

[ _ 23:57 _ ] sure!! see you :3

[ _ 23:58 _ ] ah really

[ _ 23:58] _ you're cute

[ _ 23:58] _ see you ^^

Even now, Minho doesn't quite know what Jisung means by  _ i'll pay for you since i asked you _ . Does that mean this is a date that they're going on, or is it just a way of saying that they're meeting up? Minho really doesn't want to read too much into this, but that hadn't stopped him from dolling himself up a little more this morning either.

The class goes by without much fuss. Minho's thankful that he had squeezed in some extra reading last night, because it helps him make some points in class that his lecturer praises and directs the class to consider for a couple of minutes, and that's a win in Minho's books. He packs up slowly when the class is over, still chewing over the contents of the class, and then thanks his lecturer as he exits the room.

There's still two hours before he has to meet Jisung, so he heads to the library to pick up a book he's been meaning to get but has been putting off for a while. It only takes him ten minutes to find the book and borrow it, and he berates himself for not getting it for so long.

With nothing else to do, he returns to his apartment, knowing that both Chan and Changbin won't be returning until the evening. He puts his books away and prepares another bag for when he'll go out to meet Jisung later. Now, he really has nothing to do — so he spins about in his desk chair and decides he might as well spend some time playing games.

"Can I really not play this game," Minho murmurs to himself, frowning at the app store on his phone. All it displays for this game is that ' _ This game is incompatible with your device. _ ' and it's more than a little gutting. A lot of his friends are playing this game, and the world of the game looks so beautiful that he wants to try it for himself.

Then the thought occurs to him — what if he got a new phone? He's had this phone for about three years, and it's already freezing up pretty bad, with low memory and a tendency to overheat when he's running games with higher specs. He pulls his laptop out and starts looking for a new phone that could run the game he's intending to play, and compiles a short list of possible phones he might be able to afford.

With his part-time job, he could save some money that he would originally spend on small pleasures like books and clothes, and within a few months he might be able to afford a new phone. A tempting idea, to say the least, but he files the thought away for serious consideration at a later time.

He manages to pass a couple levels of Guardian Tales before it's time to leave to find Jisung, and he checks his hair and makeup in the mirror quickly before grabbing his bag and straightening his clothes out. He searches for the restaurant again, just to make sure he doesn't get lost on the way, and bursts out of his apartment with a light heart.

His phone vibrates — 

[ _ 12:50 _ ] i'm on my way too!!

[ _ 12:50 _ ] see you there~ <3

It's nice that his own excitement is matched with Jisung's, and his footsteps are light on the pavements of Seoul, autumn sunshine gently beating down overhead.

* * *

“What’s this game you’ve been meaning to get?” Jisung asks, and he looks genuinely interested, not just a throwaway question. 

“It’s called Genshin Impact,” Minho says, “have you heard of it? It’s pretty popular nowadays.” 

“I’ve heard of it… ah!” Jisung exclaims, snapping his fingers. “I know a friend who plays it — do you know Lee Felix?” 

“Lee Felix, the one in my dancing team?” Minho asks, a little amused. 

“Oh shit, I forgot — fuck, that’s embarrassing,” Jisung grumbles, pouting a little. “Yeah, that Lee Felix. He’s in one of my classes, so we’ve become closer. I heard him saying that he’s playing Genshin.” 

“He’s the one that introduced me as well,” Minho says, nodding. “But I can’t play it on my phone because it’s an old model, and doesn’t even support Genshin at all. It kinda sucks… but I’ll save up for a new phone! It’s a good motivator when I don’t wanna go into work,” Minho finishes, laughing a little. 

Jisung frowns. “That’ll take a while, won’t it? How much does a new phone cost?” 

“Uh, half a million won, maybe? I’m not sure, I don’t need a flagship phone, just something better than the one I have now. I’ll be able to afford it if I save for a few months, I think.” 

“Hmm,” Jisung says, and really, that should have given Minho more than enough warning of what he was thinking about. Right at that moment, however, their food arrives, and Minho is promptly distracted with spooning in the ingredients into the boiling soup, which leaves Jisung free to search up  _ best phones for gaming _ on Google. He looks up again thoughtfully over at Minho, who's stirring the soup and adding more beef to the broth.

"What's up?" Minho asks, having finally noticed that Jisung was looking at him.

"Nothing," Jisung starts, then seems to change his mind. "Would you mind if I helped you buy a phone? I was trying to find a way to say it nicely, but really, I can only say it like this."

Minho very nearly scalds himself with the broth when his hand jerks up in surprise. "What? Excuse me?"

"Can I help you buy a new phone?" Jisung repeats. "It's going to be a while before you can get a new phone, and I don't want your current phone to break down before you can get a new one."

"But I have nothing to repay you with," Minho says, hesitant. "I don't - I don't feel comfortable with you spending so much money on me. You've already given me a lot of money before."

Jisung shakes his head. "You don't need to repay me. Everything that I've given you — you don't need to repay any of that. I  _ want _ to help you. If you're not comfortable I understand that, but can I at least contribute to your fund?"

"Why... why do you want to help me so much?" Minho says, and his words come out clumsy and not well-formed in his haste and surprise. "I mean! I mean — you're just - just so nice, and I'm only..."

"I think you're wonderful, and you deserve nice things," Jisung says firmly, and he's simply repeating what he told Minho weeks ago. "Will you let me help you buy a phone?"

"I... it's not like I'm offering you something in exchange," Minho protests weakly. "Surely there is something I can give to you in return, right?"

Jisung gives him a sweet smile then. "Maybe, we'll find out. Let me help you in this way, at least. Think of it as a gift from a friend, yeah?"

"None of my friends have ever wanted to buy a phone for me," Minho points out. "And I've been meaning to ask — I'm sorry if this sounds insensitive — but where does your money come from? I just..."

"You feel bad?" Jisung finishes for him. "I come from a pretty... well-to-do family, you don't need to worry about me. Seriously," He adds, catching the troubled look on Minho's face, "my parents don't mind. They always told me to tell them if my friends were having some financial troubles, or if they needed anything they couldn't justify buying. That's why I'm saying — please let me help you, hyung."

"Well... only if you're sure," Minho says, finally relenting.

"I'm very sure," Jisung says, smiling so brightly that Minho thinks he's mistakenly looked up into the overhead lamps.

"Here you go," Minho says, switching the conversation to their food instead. He spoons a large portion of beef and fish balls into Jisung's bowl, and tips some soup in for good measure. Jisung receives it graciously, and waits for Minho to start eating before he starts himself.

Minho peeks up at Jisung through his eyelashes as they begin to eat. The mystery of Jisung's wealth has finally been uncovered, but he still feels a little guilty about having so much money spent on him. He hadn't brought up the fact he wanted a new phone because he wanted Jisung to help him pay for it; it was just related to their conversation, and — 

"Hey, I can see you thinking from here," Jisung interrupts gently. "What's in your head, hmm?"

"No — I mean, I just... I feel bad about the whole phone thing," Minho admits. "It's a lot of money to spend on me, even if your family can afford it."

Jisung pauses, looks at Minho intently then. "Would it be better if it was a birthday present to you then?"

Minho's head shoots up, and he looks at Jisung incredulously. "What?"

"Your birthday! It's next month, right? If I gave you a new phone as a birthday present, that's fine right?"

"I... you're really something," Minho says, and he can't help but let out a little laugh at everything. "I suppose it's fine? But really, you don't need to help me, I —"

"Minho-hyung," Jisung begins, and Minho feels goosebumps go up his arm. "I can help you, so please let me help. I don't like to see you having a hard time when there is something I can help you with. I have the money, hyung, so — please accept this from me."

"There's nothing I can say to stop you, is there?" Minho huffs, but it's fond. "Thank you in advance then, Jisungie. You're really so nice, to me, and everyone else."

Jisung only smiles, and spoons some more food into Minho's bowl.

* * *

After that one lovely afternoon with Jisung, they had fallen into a routine of spending time together every Tuesday afternoon, and whenever Jisung would drop by at the coffee shop Minho works at. They wouldn't always go for meals, but sometimes study together at the library, or go for a walk in the parks.

All of these activities together don't help Minho's burgeoning feelings for Jisung. What used to be a simple puppy crush seems to be developing into a fully-fledged one now, and that is very much a  _ reality  _ for him. The time he spends with Jisung has become a part of his regular routine, and they both know each other's timetables well enough that they're planning activities around each other.

"You're spending an awful lot of time outside these days," Changbin observes, as he always does, when Minho prepares to leave for his shift at the coffee shop on Saturday morning. On any other Saturday morning, he wouldn’t have cared about how he looked, and would have stayed in his bed for as long as he could before he really needed to leave — but this time, he’s up and ready thirty minutes before shift starts, with the extra step of doing his makeup.

"Am I?" Minho says, deflecting the question as he concentrates on drawing his eyeliner.

"Yep," Changbin says decisively, popping the 'p' at the end of his word. "But surely it has nothing to do with that you've met Jisung on campus now, right?"

Minho is thankful that the shock coursing through him does not jolt his hand, or it would have ruined his eyeliner. "I don't know what you mean. Jisung and I are normal friends."

"Sure," Changbin drawls, busy typing away on his laptop. "Tell me that again in a couple of months and then I'll acknowledge it."

"Whatever," Minho says, making a face at Changbin as he caps his eyeliner, and grabs his bag, ready to leave. "I'll be back before dinner, don't you dare finish all the food before I come back."

He doesn't hear Changbin's words to him as he shuts the front door behind him, but what Changbin has said resounds in his head. Has he really been spending that much time with Jisung? He knows that logically, he indeed  _ has _ been spending a lot more time with Jisung, but it really doesn’t feel that way when they’re together. Minho presses his lips together and tries not to think too deeply about what Changbin’s said.

The walk to the coffee shop today is quiet, and the autumn wind picks up against his skin. Already, the leaves are a bright, burnt, red and orange, scattering all over the sidewalks like a carpet and breaking under his shoes with a delightful sound. It’s already well into October, and he supposes that winter will be settling in soon, so he lets the last sights of autumn soothe his worries, burnishing a beautiful picture in his head.

Even when he’s reached the coffee shop and he’s getting ready to open, the sights of autumn never really leave him. The open plan of the coffee shop and the large windows all bring the outside in for them, and it puts him in a good mood. His mood further lifts when Jisung shows up halfway through his shift, and Minho would be lying if he said he wasn’t expecting Jisung to turn up. Before he can so much as greet Jisung, he comes up to the counter and smiles nervously, like he has something to reveal. 

“What’s up?” Minho asks, in lieu of saying hello. “You seem nervous.”

“Well…” Jisung starts, and then seems to decide that there is no way else to phrase his sentence. “I noticed you like wearing earrings, so I got these for you," He says, sliding a small box across the counter.

Minho blinks a couple of times, feeling a little foolish in his work apron, like the coffee fumes have gotten the better of him. "You... you got me a present?"

Jisung shrugs. "Yeah. I - I did." He neglects to mention that it’s a really early birthday present — after all, Minho is under the impression that he’s buying the phone for him as a present, and that will be the most he’s receiving. 

Minho picks the box up, holding it carefully, and looks back up at Jisung. "Can I open it?"

"It's yours," Jisung says, and he looks a little nervous as Minho prises the box open gently. "I hope you like it, I just - I noticed you wore earrings really often, and I saw these the other day, so I thought you would like them, so —” 

"These are  _ beautiful _ ," Minho says, interrupting Jisung's spiel. Inside the box are a few sets of earrings, but the one that catches his eye the most is an earring that is meant to connect from the helix piercing down to the love. It's a delicate silver, a simple star stud at the helix that dangles a silver chain down to a flower stud at the lobe, which then leads down to a dangle earring with a butterfly at the end.

"How..." Minho begins, and is unable to finish. He lifts the long earring away to find other pairs of earrings, some studs and some hoops and more dangly earrings, and it must have cost more than a bit to get all these different earrings.

"I thought of you," Jisung says, shrugging again, but there is a redness spreading across the bridge of his nose and cheeks.

"Thank you," Minho says, smiling at Jisung, and hopes his sincerity comes across. "Really, thank you so much, these are beautiful. I'll make sure to wear them often." His fingers thumb over the earrings softly, and he's so engrossed in examining the earrings that he completely misses the fond look that adorns Jisung's face as he looks at Minho.

“It’s fine, I just bought it because you… you deserve nice things. Thank you again for the coffee and the company, hyung. I’ll see you tomorrow!” 

“Ah — see you!” As usually, Minho is barely left enough time to say goodbye, let alone tell Jisung he doesn’t need to thank him for talking to him. He doesn’t even get to correct that Jisung didn’t even get any coffee, but all that he’s left with is a warm feeling blooming from the left side of his chest, roots settling deep in his heart. 

* * *

Minho sighs deeply as he leans against the kitchen counter, taking a break from all the action going on in the living room. It’s his birthday today, and his friends had decided to come together to throw a little something for him — though that little something had very quickly changed into loud music and louder cheers as beers passed between them. Minho had been grateful to them for organising all of this, but even he needed a little time to take a breather from everything.

“You okay, hyung?” Jeongin asks, coming into the kitchen as well. 

“Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that, first year?” Minho teases, poking Jeongin on the forehead lightly.

“Just because I started uni this year,” Jeongin pouts, grumbling a little as he swats Minho away. “You’re so old now, shouldn’t you be worried about… job-hunting or something?” 

“I’m only 23!” Minho cries, just a little too loudly for Jeongin to consider it a serious complaint. “How could you say that to me? I’m  _ heartbroken _ , Jeongin-ah.” 

Jeongin rolls his eyes, and fills a glass of water from the tap. “Say that again when you hit 30, and then you’ll feel older.” He takes his water, and then pauses. “Happy birthday, hyungie.” 

Minho’s laughter echoes throughout the kitchen, and no doubt haunts Jeongin. He takes another sip of his can of beer, and decides to join the crowd again. He’s had enough of a breather, and has teased Jeongin to his heart’s content — he’ll rejoin the fun. Changbin calls for him to take pictures with everyone, and Minho obliges. They all snap a couple of pictures, barely fitting eight people into the frame, and then everyone topples back into their respective seats, returning to eating, drinking, or playing video games. 

For Minho, he finds himself sitting down with Jisung’s arm linked through his, and he can’t help the smile that rises to his mouth. “Having fun?” He asks Jisung, not bothering to turn his head; if he does, Jisung will be too close to him for his heart’s comfort. 

“Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that, birthday boy?” Jisung returns, and his laughter reverberates through Minho like a tide. “And yes, this is nice. Turns out I know a lot of your friends, hmm?” 

“Small world, our university,” Minho says. “I’m glad you get on with Chan-hyung and Changbin. It’s nice that you guys share interests!” 

“It is! It was unexpected, but I guess I have you to thank for introducing us,” Jisung says, smiling, and pulls Minho into his side just that little bit closer. Jisung’s heat is such a nice warmth to sink against. He would be content to sit here for the rest of the night, cuddled up next to Jisung and watching their friends yell about losing in mario kart, but Jisung suddenly jerks against him, like he’s remembered something. 

“Oh! Hyung — here you go. Happy birthday, again. I hope you’ll find this useful,” Jisung says, and he produces a small bag out of nowhere. 

Confused, Minho takes the bag, looking at it curiously. It’s a plain paper bag with a gilded handle and edges, and its weight is puzzling. He looks up at Jisung, asking if he can open it, and gets the green light. Carefully, he picks at the tape holding the bag closed, and slides the box out inside the bag — to find a box containing the latest iphone. 

“ _ Han Jisung _ ,” Minho groans, clutching the box to his heart that has abruptly increased in pace. “Oh, my god, I thought —” 

“It’s your birthday,” Jisung interrupts him softly, curling an arm around his shoulders. “Let me spoil you, at least. Hopefully it’ll last you a while yet, and you’ll be able to play Genshin smoothly on this. I’ve checked for you that it does.” Jisung’s smile crinkles at the corners of his eyes, and Minho is seized with the irresistible urge to surge forwards and kiss Jisung — so he does. 

“Thank you,” Minho murmurs quietly against Jisung’s cheek, right where he kissed. “You — really, this means so much to me… I - I don’t —” 

“Hyung, please. I  _ want _ to. You’re happy, right?” 

“Yes! Yes, of course, how couldn’t I be?” 

“Then you have my answer. I’m happy when you are,” Jisung answers, and he looks so satisfied as Minho slowly unboxes the phone, handling the weight in his hands. 

There are so many things Minho still wants to say.  _ Thank you _ , for buying him a new phone, and how much it must have cost him.  _ You make me happy even without buying me things _ , because it’s the truth, even though it’s a truth that’s still a bit too delicate to say out loud.  _ You look so pretty when you’re happy like this.  _

It’s that last thought that catches him off guard. Jisung is always pretty, of course, but he seems to indulge in this, in buying Minho things that he needs and wants — and somewhere deep in Minho, the answer to Jisung’s ever-present question of  _ will you let me buy you things? _ forms. 

_ I will let you buy me things, because it makes you happy as well.  _

“Woah, hyung, did Jisung get that for you!” 

He can think about these things another day.

* * *

Minho coming across Jisung’s to-buy list was entirely coincidental. They were in Minho's room, hanging out after a day of studying, and Jisung was trying to show him something on his phone, and had accidentally tapped into a note titled ' _ Things to Buy'.  _ Minho would have assumed it was simply a grocery shopping list, but Jisung had graciously explained that it was actually for things that he wanted to buy from other creators.

"I'm waiting for this person to open up their commissions again," Jisung explains, pointing to one of the names on his phone screen. "They make the most beautiful glass deco works, and I want to wait for when they're ready to commission again!" Jisung rambles on a bit more about the other commissions he wants to order, but Minho's eyes land on one of the notes he's made.

"You're looking for someone to embroider your clothes?" Minho asks in surprise, looking between the phone screen and Jisung.

"Yeah," Jisung says, laughing a little. "I want one of my denim jackets embroidered, but I haven't found anyone to do it yet."

Minho doesn't even think before offering. "I know how to embroider, actually! Do you want me to do it for you? I can show you what I've done before, if you want to know how good I am.

"You know how to embroider?" Jisung cries, "That's amazing! I've tried embroidering before, but I never really got the hang of it, so I've been meaning to get this done... would you really?"

"Of course I would," Minho says, nudging him playfully. "What are friends for? What do you want to be embroidered, anyway?"

"Flowers," Jisung answers immediately. "I want sunflowers — or any kind of flowers actually, on my jacket. I can bring my jacket to you next time we meet, and you can work on it anytime you're free! I'll pay you for it, of course, but there's no rush to finish it —”

"You don't need to pay me," Minho says, interrupting him gently. "I want to do this because it's something I can do for you. It isn't a chore or anything."

"But..." Jisung hesitates, pressing his lips together. "Then, if you don't want to be paid — can I buy something for you? Like last time, when you wanted to buy the corset."

Minho flushes immediately at that memory, and the knowledge that they're sitting in his room, with said corset in his closet just a couple steps away, is all a bit much for him. "I'm serious, Jisung. You don't need to do anything for me. I  _ want _ to do this for you."

"And I also want to give you something in return," Jisung insists. "You're putting a lot of work into this, embroidery isn't easy! Please, at least, let me buy something for you that you need. Anything you want, hyung — it doesn't have to be clothes."

Minho's eyes slide over to his phone — brand new, freshly gifted from Jisung just a month ago for his birthday — and he can't help the uncertainty that bubbles high into his throat. It isn't like he's particularly thinly-stretched financially at the moment, but it would be nice to have some new stationery things, maybe some money to get bubble tea if he can...

"Hyung," Jisung prompts softly. "Anything at all."

MInho bites at his bottom lip. "Are you sure?"

"Really, I'm sure. Nothing can be a problem to me." Jisung barely stops the  _ I would spend any amount of money on you _ from passing through his mouth, sure that Minho already feels a little bad about asking for help. It's the reason why he's insisting, because he doesn't know what Minho really needs or wants, and if he can help Minho get whatever he wants with the money he has, he'll be more than satisfied and happy.

"Then... I do kind of want some new stationery, just some stickers and washi tape — and maybe we could get bubble tea together? That would be more than enough," Minho finally says, and his eyes are shining though if he doesn't mean to make them look that way.

Jisung's heart melts even when he was already resolved to give Minho whatever that was asked of him. "Of course! I'll take you out to the stationery shops, and we'll get bubble tea whenever you're free, yeah? Oh — and I'll pay for all the threads that you need, so don't worry about it."

"Jisung!" Minho starts, but words fail him when Jisung leans in closer, mouth almost brushing Minho's ear lobe. "You don't have to —"

"Besides, I haven't forgotten about how pretty you looked in the corset, hyung," Jisung says, in a voice that is entirely too low to be innocent, and he can feel Minho try not to shiver. He doesn't know where all this confidence comes from — perhaps it stems from the instinct of how Minho leans into his touch, how Minho had slowly come into his life as someone precious, and how he had found Minho  _ again _ when he was sure that one-time collaboration would be the last he ever saw of him.

Jisung doesn't want to let Minho slip away out of his grasp again.

"Anything, hyung," Jisung repeats, and he backs away a little to look at Minho as he says this. "Anything you want, I'll buy it for you." He tries not to let Minho's flushed face affect him, but it is almost like they are acknowledging the tension between them that had been left unsaid for weeks and months.

"That's a tall order to keep a promise for," Minho replies, and his eyes are half-lidded, mouth parted invitingly; it would be so easy for Jisung to lean in and close this gap of two inches, press his own mouth against Minho's, draw what must be pretty noises from him.

"I never make a promise I can't keep," Jisung murmurs instead, and draws back entirely.

Everything still feels so delicate, fragile, in the heat of Minho's bedroom; the flimsy door seems stronger than ever, keeping the outside away from their little bubble. Jisung wants to burn this image into his mind — Minho, rosy cheeks and blown pupils, looking so  _ pretty _ that words bubble up into his throat and affection blooms in his chest.

God, he  _ wants _ . He wants Lee Minho so bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> poem from the start is taken from butterflies rising, ["a complete mess of me"](https://butterfliesrising.com/a-complete-mess-of-me/)


	3. and you glow golden in this afterglow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: needles (knitting), explicit sexual content

Moonlight making crosses on your body, and me putting my mouth on every one.

* * *

Minho really should have known that he would fall ill sooner rather than later. He always falls ill around this time of year, when his assignment deadlines coincide with the freezing weather, and every year, he never learns.

This year, it is the same, with the added factor that he, Hyunjin, and Felix had decided to start filming videos again. It's a relief that they manage to get some new dance covers filmed, and the next few videos they were planning to release were solo or duet covers anyway. It gives Minho time to recover from the terrible cold he's come down with — but there's the issue of his part-time job.

Minho's manager had graciously told him to stay off working until he's recovered, but the issue of money remains. He will have to bug his manager to get his paid sick leave arranged, and he really doesn't have the energy to do that right now when his fever is raging high and he honestly feels like death would be a cooler respite.

“Tell us if you need anything, okay?” Chan says, looking deathly worried and hovering in the doorframe of Minho’s bedroom. “Also, I think we have someone coming over later… you’ll be happy with him.” 

It doesn’t go through Minho’s brain. “What?” 

“Jisung’s coming over to visit you, and he has something to give us, apparently.” 

“Oh, fuck off,” Minho groans, and Chan takes that as his cue to leave him alone.

For a few moments, Minho gets some peace and quiet — which is nice, even though he feels miserable. But that quickly changes when faintly, outside his door, he can hear some noises from when it was previously silent; he sits up slightly to change over his pillow so it's cooler, and there comes a faint knock at his door.

"Come in," Minho croaks out, wincing at the sound of his own voice.

"You look awful, hyung," Jisung remarks, voice slightly muffled through the mask he's wearing, like he also lives in their apartment. He walks into Minho's room with an air of awful familiarity, and Minho wonders if he's sick enough to be hallucinating about his crush being here. Chan couldn’t possibly have been right that Jisung would come and see him.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to drop you some things, and make sure you're okay," Jisung says easily, like it doesn't send a rush of hope and affection through Minho's chest. "How are you feeling?"

"Like shit," Minho says, miserable, but it's made marginally better by Jisung's presence.

"Oh, baby, I'm sure it must suck," Jisung coos — c _ oos! _ — and then Minho feels hot for another reason entirely. "I brought you some food that my  _ eomma  _ said is good for sick people, and a couple other things I thought you might like."

"You didn't need to," Minho says, sniffing.

"I want to," Jisung corrects him gently, and hands him a box of tissues that was sitting just out of Minho's reach. "Is there anything that's been bothering you?"

Minho squints at him blearily. "How do you know me so well?"

"I've spent a lot of time with you lately, hyung. You fell ill so fast you told me you didn't even have time to email your professors. Other things must be bothering you, right?" Jisung comes and sits down next to him, and Minho supposes this must be why he's wearing the mask — the thought that Jisung would do this much for him makes him swallow around the feeling rising up into his throat.

"I have to sort out the sick leave thing for my work," Minho says, and even though they're sitting at some distance from each other, Jisung reaches out for his hand to hold anyway. "And I'm missing out on a lot of work, I'm a bit worried about keeping my grades up for my scholarship," Minho admits, and the low laugh he gives sends him into a coughing fit.

Jisung only reaches over for the glass of water on his nightstand and feeds it to him slowly, never letting go of his head. It's only when Minho's drained the glass and relaxes against the headboard that Jisung begins to talk.

"I'll go talk to your work for you," Jisung says. "I'm sure I can help you sort it out. And as for your uni work, I'll draft up emails for your professors so you just need to send it off. Don't worry about any expenses you need for now, if you need more medicine or to take more time off — I'll help you cover it all."

Minho kind of wants to knock himself out. "Jisung," He says, sighing a little, "we've talked about this before. I know you want to help, but —"

"Hyung, please," Jisung says, and something in his gaze makes Minho quiet down, makes him listen. "I know, but... this whole thing — buying things for you and taking care of you... it's - it's something within my control. It's something I can do  _ for you _ . Do you understand, hyung?" The lower half of Jisung's face is covered by the mask, but the light in his eyes is beseeching, and Minho has to convince himself that this isn't what his brain thinks it is.

"You are already doing so much for me," Minho murmurs, and his cold is making him more emotional, more tired, more willing to go with what Jisung wants to do. "I wouldn't even know where to begin to repay you."

Jisung shakes his head emphatically. "You don't need to repay me, because I  _ want _ to do this for you."

"Then what can I do for you?" Minho asks, and all of a sudden, the tension that was always present throughout their relationship resurfaces, comes to Minho's cold-ridden brain in Jisung's compliments towards him, Jisung's heated words against his ear, Jisung's hand that is now holding his.

Something in Jisung's gaze changes then, and Minho can see it even through the fog of being ill; it reminds of the last time when they were alone in his room, and the warmth of his cheeks are no longer just from his fever. Jisung doesn't move from where he's seated, nor does he pull Minho in closer, yet he can't help but feel as though he's being surrounded by Jisung.

"I want you to get better," Jisung says softly, and before Minho can interrupt, he continues on insistently, "so I can take you out. If you get better faster, I'll take you somewhere you want to go. For the whole day — it'll just be me and you."

"You're quite the romantic, aren't you," Minho says, and the cold makes his words more honest, his mouth more glib. His tired eyes don't catch the glint of surprise in Jisung's eyes, nor the affection that curls around the corners of his mouth, hidden by the mask. "You're giving me so much…" 

"Because I want to take care of you," Jisung reminds him once more. "Remember to take your medicine after you have the broth. I got you some threads and fabric in case you're bored, and the extra hoops you were meaning to buy. Oh! And there's soybean milk in the fridge, so don't forget about that. If there's anything else you want, just tell me, okay?"

Minho has to concentrate to listen to all of Jisung's words, and something heavy overcomes him when he finally digests these words. He can't even begin to try and thank Jisung, can't tell Jisung that it's been years since someone took care of him in such a manner, can't tell where his gratefulness ends and his love starts. Instead, it all rushes out in a couple of words.

"Thank you, Jisungie," He murmurs, and his eyes aren't wet but he thinks maybe they should be. "I'll try my best to get better soon." He doesn't say the  _ for you _ , but he might as well have said it with how Jisung's eyes crinkle. 

"Silly hyung," Jisung says, fond. "Go back to sleep. I'll stay until you fall asleep."

Minho wants to protest, say that it's okay to leave him alone, but Jisung is right — he's getting tired, and he won't take long to fall asleep. He also doesn't want Jisung to leave, but he keeps that thought to himself.

Instead, he lies back down, and Jisung shuffles closer so they can still hold hands. His eyes close of their own accord, and an overwhelming tide of exhaustion blankets over him so that he becomes drowsy almost instantly. He sinks into the mattress, feels himself slip into the strange, half-awake half-asleep dreamland. In this state, he isn't quite sure of what he feels; he knows he feels Jisung's hand in his until the end, and the heat of both his fever and another body — but the light, fleeting kiss to his forehead… he thinks he dreams about that part. 

But he forgets about all of this, anyway. He goes to sleep, peaceful. 

* * *

By the time Minho has recovered from his devastating cold, the world has continued to move on. He spends a whole week catching up on the material he's missed, and then even more on his society and the dance covers for his channel. It's perhaps not the best idea to push himself so hard right after he's recovered, but he isn't going to listen to anyone, lest of all  _ himself _ and his body.

After the initial rush of work and activities, everything settles back into his normal routine again. He finds out that Jisung actually bought the audio equipment that Chan and Changbin wanted for them, and now they’re planning to record something together for their respective channels. The only reason he finds out is because he comes home one evening to Changbin yelling and Chan staring off into space. He doesn’t even get a moment to rest before they start telling about “your boyfriend that bought us these things! You have to thank him again for us, Minho, oh my  _ god _ —” and despite his denial that Jisung isn’t his boyfriend, he doesn’t even make himself heard among their cries. Instead he shakes his head and texts Jisung another thank you message. 

Life eventually settles back down as the winter starts, and there is only two more weeks before university breaks up for the winter holidays. This means that he goes back to working in the coffee shop on Wednesday, Friday, and the weekends, and meets up with Jisung every Tuesday to have a meal together. 

Now, something has changed between them. For everything that has already happened with them, nothing tops the time when Jisung had visited and taken care of him when he was sick, calling him so sweetly and promising to take him places after he got better. Even more than that, Jisung had fulfilled his promises, taking him out for one whole Sunday to a park some distance away. They had walked through the parks and sat down to share sandwiches and hot chocolate, breaths fogging up in the air around them. 

It had felt too much like a date. It didn’t help that Jisung would curl an arm around his shoulders when other people passed by them on the narrow paths, or that their hands tangled together every now and then as they walked along. 

_ Are we on a date? _ Minho had wanted to ask several times throughout that one day, but the words melted on his tongue when Jisung smiled over at him, cheeks red. 

He had simply smiled back, and nodded when Jisung asked whether he was enjoying himself.

_ I always enjoy the time that I spend with you _ , Minho wants to say, but no words leave his mouth. Somehow, spending time with Jisung is always good for him, which is how he finds himself unwittingly agreeing to attend a pre-Christmas party with Jisung. 

“It will be fun, do you want to come with me?” Jisung asks, eyes almost sparkling, and Minho is a weak, weak man.

“I’ll go with you,” Minho finds himself saying, before he realises the magnitude of what he’s gotten into. “It can’t be that bad,” He adds on, more for himself than Jisung, because he hasn’t been to a party in ages, and surely one can’t  _ forget _ how to party, right?

Which is how he finds himself in the middle of a game of dare or drink the first week of Christmas break, already slightly tipsy from some alcohol and the heat, and very much merry. If he had forgotten how to party, that had been very quickly remedied by the two shots he took in the past half an hour, and now that he’s been dragged into this game, he expects he’ll be drinking a lot more. 

The bottle hasn’t landed on him yet, so he cuddles up to Jisung, hooking his chin over his shoulder. He knows Jisung hasn’t had anything to drink yet — so why does Jisung shift to make him more comfortable, wrap an arm around his waist, and pull him in closer? These are all questions that would have stayed on his mind a lot longer if he was concentrating, but the bottle finally lands on him, and he perks up at the chance. 

“What’s my dare?” Minho drawls, leaning away from Jisung slightly to look up at the circle of friends and coursemates. 

“Your dare,” Jangjun begins, and it looks like he has something devious planned. “is to swap clothes with someone from here! But it has to be something you’ve never worn before.”

Minho laughs out loud, but doesn't notice how Jisung tenses next to him. “Interesting. Then…” he makes a quick scan of the circle around him, and his eyes land on Felix, who had also come to the party tonight. “Felix!” He calls, and a round of cheers go out as everyone realises what Minho will be wearing. 

“Oh, come on,” Felix laughs as well, and they both stand up. “You’re lucky we’re about the same size, hyung.” 

“Exactly why I chose you,” Minho says, and they both head off to the bathroom to change their clothes. 

“I wasn’t expecting you to turn up tonight,” Felix says, shedding the bottom half of his clothes and handing the item to Minho. “Did Jisungie convince you to come?” 

Minho sighs, but the sound is so incredibly fond. “Yeah, he did. I couldn’t say no… and it’s been a while since I went to a party. Look what I’m doing now — how fun.” He tugs the material up until it settles prettily around his waist, and waits for Felix to button up the slightly oversized jeans, and they both make their way back out. 

“Look who’s here!” Seungkwan calls admiringly, and everyone turns to look at them. Another round of cheers and hoots goes up again, and Minho bows mockingly, settling down beside Jisung easily again. 

“I’ve done my dare,” Minho announces, letting Jisung’s arm curl around him again. “I’m spinning the bottle!” He gets caught up in the atmosphere of it all that he forgets Jisung’s reaction, and it isn’t until Jisung’s fingers dig into his side that he looks towards Jisung, a smile etched on his lips. 

“Jisungie?” Minho asks, a little too loudly, but his words are cut off. Jisung presses against him, kisses the lobe of his ear, and Minho squeaks in surprise. “Jisung? Are you drunk?” 

“Am I drunk?” Jisung says, laughs a little, and his fingers are stroking over Minho’s waist. “Gods — I’m getting drunk from looking at  _ you _ . You're wearing a skirt, hyung."

"Isn't it pretty?" Minho asks, slightly glibbed-mouth from alcohol and heat. "I've always wanted to buy a nice skirt, but I haven't had the time or money." 

"I'll buy you so many skirts," Jisung says, ducking in to press another kiss, this time to the base of Minho's ear. "I also have some skirts, but they might not fit you."

"Mm, we should match," Minho murmurs, tilting his neck so Jisung has more skin to work with. "I think we would be very pretty." 

At that, Jisung pauses, and Minho can feel him breathe out hotly onto his skin; he shivers a little and looks over at Jisung, a question —  _ what are you doing _ — poised on his lips. Jisung beats him to it. 

"Are you drunk, hyung?" Jisung asks, serious, and Minho blinks at the change in tone. 

"No, I haven't had a lot to drink."

"Then will you remember everything, and you know what you're agreeing to?" 

"Yes."

"Good," Jisung breathes, and his gaze is molten when Minho looks at him, "because I want to take you home." His other hand finds Minho's cheek, cups it gently, like they aren't sitting in someone's house with loud music and games going on around them. "Will you go home with me, hyung?"

Minho thinks about it for a second — what does this mean, are they going to do what he thinks they are, what is going to become of them after this — and he smiles. 

"I'll go home with you." 

* * *

Jisung lives in an apartment off-campus, but Minho knows this postcode — it's a relatively wealthy area, and it only serves as a reminder that the man tugging him into the elevator of this charmingly furnished apartment is also wealthy. He doesn't have more time to think about it as Jisung unlocks the door to his apartment and pulls Minho in. Briefly, Minho can see that it's a smaller apartment than he had expected, but all of that is quickly pushed out of his mind when Jisung whirls him into his arms. 

"Can I kiss you?" Jisung murmurs, cupping Minho's face carefully. 

Minho smiles, wraps his own arms around Jisung, and leans down to kiss him. Jisung is gentler than he expects — though he isn't quite sure of  _ what _ he's expecting at all — but he's also insistent, and Minho finds himself parting his mouth for Jisung. Like this, with Jisung's attention on him like electricity, he can't help but get worked up too quickly, fingers scrabbling at Jisung's hair, skin, clothes, until Jisung detaches from him, already laughing a little. 

"You're impatient, hyung," Jisung says, but even he is sliding his hands over Minho's body, mouth pressing kisses everywhere he can reach. 

Minho tugs on Jisung’s shirt, petulant. “Take me the bedroom  _ now _ or else.” 

“Or else what?” Jisung asks, almost patronising; and then, in what must be a display of strength just to fluster him, picks him up, hands underneath his thighs so that Minho has to scramble to hook his arms around Jisung’s neck.

“Jisung!” 

“You wanted the bedroom, didn’t you?” Jisung says, and carries him so easily that Minho resolves to go to the gym as well just so he can pick Jisung up as well.

Jisung shoulders his way into his bedroom, and he lets go of Minho to sit down on the edge of the bed. Without stopping, he pulls Minho into him so Minho goes with the movement, stumbling a little. He supposes he must make some sort of small, surprised noise, because Jisung groans, settles his arms around Minho’s waist. 

“Fuck -  _ fuck _ , you have no idea what you do to me, hyung,” Jisung hisses, and his hands are hot on Minho’s hips, keeping him steady as Minho straddles him, the skirt pooling around his thighs prettily. Unable to help himself, Jisung runs his hands down Minho’s ass, the underside of his thigh, moves from smooth cotton to soft skin, and he grips Minho’s thigh hard enough for him to whine. 

“What do you want?” Jisung breathes out, hot into the air around them, and Minho’s ears are flushed. “Anything, I’ll give you anything, hyung.”

“I want  _ you _ ,” Minho murmurs, and he’s almost dizzy when he looks into Jisung’s eyes. “Let me have you, Jisungie.” 

“Anything you want,” Jisung says,  _ promises _ , and he maps a trail of kisses down the column of Minho’s neck, pressing heat into his skin until Minho is squirming in his hold. 

“Jisung, Jisung —” Minho says, urgent like he can’t breathe, and when Jisung looks up at him, he cups Jisung’s face and brings him in for a kiss. It’s too fast and too rushed, teeth clacking awkwardly between them until Jisung tugs at Minho firmly, makes Minho go still. He kisses Minho’s bottom lip sweetly as a reward for listening, and presses a few languid kisses to Minho’s mouth as if he doesn’t have him clutching at his shirt, almost whining. 

“What do you want?” Jisung asks, and god, he always asks this question, and still Minho’s heart jumps at the same question every time. “Say it, hyung, and I’ll give it to you.”

There are so many words in Minho’s mouth, slow and sticky, but right now, he really only wants one thing. “Can I —” Minho starts, and then grinds down into where he can feel Jisung’s dick against his, delighting in the groan that Jisung gives. “Can I blow you?” He can feel Jisung’s hands squeeze tighter on his hips and thigh, and he takes it as a positive sign, so he picks Jisung’s hands off him and slides down until he’s kneeling on the ground between Jisung’s parted legs. 

“I think you’re perfect,” Jisung mumbles, hands threading into Minho’s hair as he gets comfortable; it’s almost too tender for this moment right now, but Minho leans into his touch, smiles sweetly as he nuzzles against the bulge in Jisung’s jeans. 

“Keep that in mind, then,” Minho says, and leaves Jisung to think about the implications of his words. He busies himself with palming over Jisung’s dick as he unzips his pants, pulling at his jeans a little petulantly. From somewhere above him, he hears Jisung huff out a laugh, but he makes no move to help Minho, just to be a little mean. 

This leaves Minho to slowly work Jisung’s jeans and boxers down, just enough to release his cock from the confines of his pants, and Minho exhales lightly as Jisung’s hands tighten in his hair. Jisung is already hard, and he wraps a hand around the base of Jisung’s cock, trying not to notice how his fingers don’t touch; instead, he leans further in, flattens his tongue against the head of Jisung’s cock. 

“You look so pretty,” Jisung murmurs, and one of his hands comes to trace around Minho’s bottom lip. “You want my cock in your mouth, hyung?”

Minho glares up at him, but there’s no heat in his gaze. 

“Hey now,” Jisung admonishes, like Minho isn’t holding his cock, mouth just half a centimetre away, “that’s not a nice way to ask for things, is it? Try again,  _ hyung _ ,” He finishes, and tugs on Minho’s hair just a little too meanly — 

And Minho can’t help the whine that tumbles out of his mouth, breathing the sound hotly right over the head of Jisung’s cock. He’s just about to muster up the words to play along with whatever Jisung wants him to do, but then his hair is tugged again,  _ just the right amount of meanness _ , and he whimpers again, looking up at Jisung with big eyes.

“Oh, you like that, do you?” Jisung says, the smile adorning his face full of mirth. 

“Mm,” Minho hums, not wanting to admit it. He’s about to take Jisung’s cock into his mouth when Jisung pulls him away. “Jisung!” 

“Say it, Minho,” Jisung says, and even though he’s dropped the honorific Minho can’t bring it in himself to tell Jisung off. “Say you like getting your hair pulled.” 

“I… I like having my hair pulled,” Minho mumbles, recognising that he won’t be able to move on if he doesn’t comply, and something hot burns from his chest up into his cheeks when Jisung smiles and cups his face like he’s done something good. “Can - can I, now?” He tacks on, seeing that he’s already here, on his knees and listening to Jisung. He can feel the heat coursing through his body, and somewhere through the increasingly foggy haze of his brain, he knows that he  _ likes _ it, likes being talked to like this, made to say embarrassing things.

“You’re so good, aren’t you?” Jisung coos, hooking a thumb into the side of Minho’s mouth. “Alright, go ahead, baby, take what you want.” 

Minho resists the urge to glare at Jisung for his cheek in the fear that Jisung might make him wait even longer, so he presses an open-mouthed kiss against the head of Jisung’s cock, and stretches his mouth around Jisung. He hadn’t said it out loud because it would inflate Jisung’s ego, but Jisung is  _ big _ , and he doesn’t think he’ll be able to take all of Jisung in his mouth. Still, he takes Jisung’s cock into his mouth slowly, lets its weight rest on his tongue, just barely down his throat, a hand wrapping around the rest of what isn’t in his mouth. 

“Fuck,” Jisung hisses, and even though Minho has his eyes closed and he’s focusing on trying not to gag, he can’t help the little rumble of laughter up his throat. It draws another swear from Jisung, so Minho starts bobbing his head, humming around Jisung’s cock as he goes. The hand in his hair tightens, almost tugging, and Minho makes a petulant noise. 

“Oh, you’re so whiny, darling,” Jisung says, and despite the sweet pet name, there is something in his tone that makes Minho shiver. “You look so pretty like this, taking my cock. Do you like this, with something in your mouth and my hand in your hair, hmm?” He pulls at Minho’s hair again for good measure, and he gains a choked whine from Minho. 

“You’re so messy…” Jisung swipes his free hand at Minho’s chin, where all his drool has spilled out from his mouth, lips stretched around Jisung’s girth. Minho opens his eyes then, a little watery from taking his cock, and looks up at him, gaze clouded over. “You okay, baby?” 

Minho lets Jisung’s cock out of his mouth then, and already his voice sounds a little hoarse; it makes heat run up Jisung’s spine. “You can… you can —” Minho starts, and his words dissolve off, apparently too embarrassed to say it out loud. Instead, he reaches a hand up to clasp Jisung’s wrist, and uses Jisung’s hand to tug on his own hair. “Please,” He adds, and if Jisung had even an ounce worth less of self control he would have come on Minho’s face. 

“You want me to use your mouth?” 

“... Please.” 

“You’re too good to me,” Jisung groans, deciding that he’s teased Minho enough for the time being. The sight of Minho on his knees, skirt arranged prettily around his thighs, mouth red and pupils blown, is more than enough to sway him. “Pinch my wrist if it’s too much, okay?” He waits for Minho to nod, to show that he understands and remembers, before Minho takes his cock into his mouth again. This time, he just lets the head of Jisung’s cock sit in his mouth, and he looks up to Jisung, as if he’s waiting for Jisung to use him. 

“You’re actually going to be the death of me,” Jisung hisses, and slides his fingers into Minho’s hair more firmly. This time, he lets himself drag Minho down on his cock; Minho goes with the movement willingly, trying his best not to gag around Jisung. 

It’s even messier than before, with Jisung gently pushing him further onto his cock with each thrust, and his drool bubbles out of the sides of his mouth. God, he feels  _ filthy _ , but it sends a shock of heat through him, especially when he reaches down to his cock, palming over himself, and finds that he’s soaked right through his boxers with pre-cum. He whines around Jisung’s cock, choking around it when Jisung brings him down again, and he can feel Jisung’s thigh tensing under his hand.

“Gonna - gonna come soon,” Jisung grits out, like he’s trying to resist from thrusting up into Minho’s mouth; that thought occurs to Minho and seizes him with a different heat — he’ll have to save that for another time. “Do you want to come off, baby?”

Minho thinks about what Jisung is implying, and he shakes his head as best as he can around a mouthful of Jisung’s cock. When Jisung’s fingers go lax in his hair, like he’s uncertain, Minho reaches up and closes Jisung’s fingers around his hair again. He wills his throat to relax, and then bears down on the rest of Jisung’s cock until he’s pressed against Jisung’s pelvis. 

“Fuck — Minho!”

Minho wants to laugh at the break in Jisung’s voice, but Jisung’s fist is tight in his hair again, and he’s carried with the movements of Jisung’s hand once more. Jisung’s cock is heavy in his mouth, and he presses down on his own cock through all the layers of his cloth with the heel of his palm as Jisung groans and holds his head steady, hips stuttering, and — 

Jisung’s cum bursts across his tongue, and Minho does his best to swallow it all down; despite this, some still overflows from the corners of his mouth, and his eyes water. Jisung’s hand falls from his hair, and he can hear Jisung trying to catch his breath from above him. He comes off Jisung and licks softly around Jisung’s cock, cleaning up the leftover traces of cum; if he was allowed, he would have probably stayed on his knees for a little longer, but Jisung has other ideas.

“Fuck,  _ fuck _ ,” Jisung pants, and he tugs Minho up hurriedly into his lap; Minho goes with the motion, legs numb from sitting on his knees for so long. He tumbles into Jisung, and his mouth, already bright red and swollen from blowing Jisung, is pressed against Jisung’s own mouth. Jisung licks over the seam of his lips at the same time that he reaches under Minho’s skirt to cup his dick, and Minho lets out a shocked cry into Jisung’s mouth., having forgotten about his own pleasure for the time being. 

“Come on, come on baby,” Jisung breathes, speaking words into Minho’s mouth. “You’ve been so  _ good _ , baby, come on, come for me —” 

He barely gets his hands into Minho’s boxers, and it only takes a squeeze around his cock for Minho to break into a sob, coming messily into his boxers and Jisung’s palm. And — oh, Jisung is so  _ cruel _ , still rubbing his cock as he comes, and it isn’t until he’s shaking and sobbing against Jisung before he decides to relent, removing his hand from underneath Minho’s skirt. 

Jisung pets gently over the length of Minho’s back with one hand, but he feeds Minho his own cum with his other hand. Dutiful and a little out of it, Minho goes with Jisung’s antics, cleans his hand and then slumps back against Jisung, arms curled tightly around his shoulders. 

“You’re so pretty,” Jisung whispers, and he’s holding Minho just as tightly. “The prettiest little thing I’ve ever seen. You did so well for me, darling.” 

Faintly, as Minho noses sweetly into the crook of Jisung’s neck and shoulder, he wonders when Jisung started using these pet names. He’d gone into a haze ever since Jisung put him on his knees, but he isn’t going to question Jisung’s choice of names for him. It settles a warm feeling in his chest, especially in the afterglow of sex.

Everything with Jisung has suddenly become a lot more  _ real _ , whether he realises it or not in that moment.

* * *

In the days and weeks that follow their little romp, Jisung becomes a lot more free with his words and gestures. The pet names are something he uses frequently now, even in the presence of other people; it’s to the point that Hyunjin and Felix think they’re dating, and that’s a conversation Minho has been wanting to not have. 

“So… you’re not dating, but you blowed him?” Hyunjin asks when they’re taking a break from practicing their dance.

Minho groans, burying his face in his palms. “When you say it like that…” He pretends to wipe his sweat away to not look at his friends, well aware that they’re looking intently at him.

“Let me rephrase,” Felix chimes in, and Minho braces himself. “He got you a new phone, gave you money for clothes and groceries and transport, helped emailed your professors, sort out your sick leave, came to take care of you and now had sex with you… and you think there’s nothing going on?” 

Felix words are a lot sharper when it’s phrased like that. “Again, when you say it like that…” 

“We’re saying it how it sounds like,” Hyunjin says, and he’s  _ right _ but Minho won’t ever admit that. “So what are you guys? Are you sure you aren’t a sugar baby?” 

Once upon a time, Minho would have answered  _ no _ firmly and without hesitation, but now he isn’t too sure. Is that what Jisung thinks of him — as his sugar baby? Already, Jisung has bought clothes and stationery for him, a new phone, his transport and food fees, not to mention the several times that they had gone out to eat together and Jisung had footed the bill. And in return — he stays with Jisung, providing Jisung with company, and now… sex. 

“I haven’t talked to him about this,” Minho mumbles instead, unsure where to even start. 

Felix and Hyunjin dissolve into another topic — something about the next video cover they want to do — but the nature of his and Jisung’s relationship plagues Minho’s mind for the rest of the day. Even when he returns to his own apartment, still quiet because Chan and Changbin aren’t home yet, he wonders what it would be like to be able to come home to Jisung. 

Shaking himself out of it, he pads his way to his room — and god, Jisung really won’t leave him. The balls of red yarn he had bought weeks ago sits on his desk, reminding him of the promise he made to himself that he would make Jisung a scarf. For when, he hadn’t set a deadline, but it’s close to Christmas now, and he thinks that if he rushes it, he’ll be able to make it in time for it to be a Christmas present.

He reaches for the yarn, running the soft fabric through his fingers. So far, he’s been showing affection towards Jisung in his own way, by embroidering his jacket, accompanying him to events, indulging in his whims, and now, making him a scarf. He isn’t sure if Jisung returns his feelings, but the traitorous thought occurs to him — what if Jisung shows affection through buying him things? And — that would be why he’s constantly buying things for Minho, sending him money. 

The ball of hope is hard to swallow back down when it’s lodged so far up in his throat, and so for the first time in a while, he lets himself hope. That — Jisung also likes him back, that all of Jisung’s actions thus far aren’t motivated just out of pity and kindness, that there is a chance, however minute, that they would be able to get together in the future.

The thought of even wanting to date is foreign to Minho but… he thinks that with Jisung, everything is fresh and new — and more than anything, he  _ wants  _ to. He wants it more than anything else he’s wanted in his life, and even the thought of Jisung is enough to make heat rise to his cheeks, the tips of his ears. 

He smiles a little to himself, and sits down with the yarn. Reaching for the needles and his laptop, he pulls up a video on YouTube just to refresh his memory on how to knit. He’s sure he can get this done for Christmas — and he’ll figure out what to do with this then.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> poem at beginning taken from richard siken's [Snow and Dirty Rain](https://genius.com/Richard-siken-snow-and-dirty-rain-annotated/)


	4. is love coloured like this, in your shade?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: explicit sexual content

oh, how lovely you are

i’ll take you home

* * *

Like déjà vu, Minho finds himself staring down at a package again. This time, he’s sitting in his own room with two plastic packages — innocuous, really — and he thinks about how much his life has changed in the past five months. Then he stops thinking about that, because he’ll get misty-eyed and nostalgic. He turns towards the packages, and with a tremulous sigh, tears open the packaging.

His throwaway comment from a week or two ago had evidently stayed with Jisung, and he extracts the pretty, pleated skirt from its packaging. Jisung had told him he had the same skirt, but black in colour; Minho had chosen the white to compliment Jisung’s, and he sets it aside carefully to open the other package. This skirt is a dark grey plaid, asymmetrical in design, with a chunky belt to compliment it. It’s a skirt he’s been wanting to buy for a while now, and to actually have it in his hands sends his hearts into butterflies.

Despite this, he knows that there’s something else he’s ordered that will take some time to come. This was supposed to be a surprise for Jisung, and he had bought it with his own money; he dawdled for a long time trying to pick what he should buy, and had slammed his laptop shut after he bought it, cheeks hot. He wasn’t embarrassed about his purchase, per say, but… the thought of what Jisung’s reaction might be — that was what had motivated him to check out his basket. 

After all, he hadn’t forgotten the way Jisung praised him, hands soft but mean all at the same time. Minho swallows, and tries to shake off the molten heat that has suddenly clasped at his spine. He looks back at his skirts, and starts checking over them for any loose threads or defects; he’s entertaining the idea of maybe dressing up in them for fun when his phone vibrates with a new message. 

[ _ Yang Jeonginnie, 14:05 _ ] hyung

[ _ Yang Jeonginnie, 14:06 _ ] why is your boyfriend like this

Minho’s interest is immediately piqued. He ignores how Jeongin refers to Jisung as  _ his boyfriend _ , and sets aside his new skirts for the moment. 

[ _ 14:07 _ ] what do you mean?? 

[ _ 14:07 _ ] i’m saying that i mentioned i was having trouble buying books 

[ _ 14:07 _ ] because there aren’t any seniors i know who are selling their books 

[ _ 14:07 _ ] and the online ones are all out of date

[ _ 14:08 _ ] i told jisung hyung about this one (1) time during your birthday

[ _ 14:08 _ ] and he bought me all the textbooks i needed

[ _ 14:10 _ ] sounds like him 

[ _ 14:10 _ ] what do you want me to do about it

[ _ 14:11 _ ] i already thanked him but seriously

[ _ 14:11 _ ] does he always do this 

[ _ 14:11 _ ] we just met and he’s already so nice

[ _ 14:12 _ ] yeah he really is

[ _ 14:12 _ ] go treat him to a meal or something if you want to thank him more 

[ _ 14:14 _ ] ah, this hyung 

[ _ 14:14 _ ] seems like you know the way to jisung hyung’s heart

[ _ 14:15 _ ] what are you saying you brat!!!

[ _ 14:16 _ ] god you don’t even know hyung

[ _ 14:16 _ ] i was talking to him

[ _ 14:16 _ ] he won’t stop talking about you

[ _ 14:18 _ ] excuse me

[ _ 14:19 _ ] he won’t stop talking about you

[ _ 14:19 _ ] it was astonishing

[ _ 14:20 _ ] you guys are an awful couple

[ _ 14:21 _ ] we are not a couple!!!!!!! 

[ _ 14:21 _ ] yang jeongin watch yourself 

[ _ 14:22 _ ] what

[ _ 14:22 _ ] please tell me you’re joking 

[ _ 14:23 _ ] we’re not dating!!! 

[ _ 14:24 _ ] …… 

[ _ 14:24 _ ] ohmyGOD 

[ _ 14:25 _ ] i’m no longer having this conversation today

[ _ 14:25 _ ] have fun hyung

Minho thinks about replying, but then doesn’t, just to annoy Jeongin. That’s what he tells himself, but Jeongin has already successfully gotten under his skin. The hope that rises in his chest from Jeongin’s words is dizzying, but he forces himself to tamper it with logic — that Jisung is simply like that, he’s  _ nice _ and kind and everything and  _ god _ he’s got it bad. 

He stands up and paces around his room in an effort to shake his mind, but his eyes land on the red scarf. Again —  _ Jisung _ . He lets out a breath, but it’s full of affection. The scarf is halfway done, a result of him picking it up at every spare moment he can, while he’s reviewing notes, or watching lecture recordings; he thinks he’ll be able to make it in time for it to be a new year’s present. 

  
  


* * *

Minho thinks about how best to put it. 

_ Are we.. you know?  _

_ You keep buying me things, so am I your sugar baby? _

_ So I know we haven’t said anything about what we are, but I like you a lot and would it be too much if we were dating?  _

They all sound ridiculous in his head, and he thinks maybe he’ll just never say anything and continue on with this ambiguous relationship, but then he goes on to think about the day when Jisung’s affection might move on to someone else, and something ugly and hot tugs at his chest. He — doesn’t want that. He wants Jisung, and if he wants Jisung, he’ll have to say something. 

He thinks about going to his friends to try and ask them for advice; surely, Hyunjin, who’s now dating Changbin, must have some sort of advice for him, or even Seungmin, who had done as much as smile at Jeongin and got a boyfriend from it. And even though he wants to, he finds his courage failing, unsure how to even start this kind of conversation. 

After all, what would they say to him? That he should just go in and confess? He knows he has to do that anyway, but… how? This is hurting his head a lot more than he thinks it should, and he finds himself being restless and uneasy over the next few days, so much so that Seungmin finally asks him what’s wrong.

“Hyung, that’s the third time you’ve nearly spilled the drinks,” Seungmin says, and beneath his calm tone there’s something worried in there. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Minho says automatically, going to fill another order for a strawberry latte, then he clocks Seungmin’s worry. “Yeah, don’t worry, I’m just… I’m thinking a lot about something.”

“Jisung?” Seungmin asks, and it’s so uncannily accurate that Minho once again nearly spills the milk. “You’re pretty obvious, you know. What happened this time?” 

“Nothing happened! Just… just — I don’t know what we are. I like him but… I don’t know if he sees me in the same way.” 

When Seungmin sighs, it’s more fond than annoyed. “Hyung, he spends so much time with you, and buys you things, and takes care of you. I think he likes you very much.”

“He also does that for everyone else,” Minho murmurs, pushing a tray out onto the pickup counter. “I mean, he helped Chan-hyung and Changbin buy the audio equipment they wanted, and he helped Jeongin with his textbooks too. He’s just… nice.”

“Hyung, if you really want Jisung, you have to believe that you have a chance with him,” Seungmin starts, and the words are more startling than Minho could have expected. “If you don’t believe that you have a chance, then you won’t.” 

“Well - well yes, but —” 

“Hyung, I know that you think of things thoroughly,” Seungmin continues, steamrolling right over Minho. “But logic works both ways. You can tell yourself to not have such high hopes, but you should also acknowledge the truth of what people are telling you. Everyone’s been telling you that Jisung treats you in a more special way, right?” 

“... Yeah.” 

“Then there you have it. I think you can come to your own conclusions.” 

Minho groans, a muffled sound into his apron. “God, Kim Seungmin, why do you have to be  _ right _ ?” 

Seungmin only giggles. “You forget I’ve liked Jeongin for years, hyung. It becomes easier to tell when someone likes you or not after so long.” 

“Of course I remember,” Minho says, looking up at him again. “I was there when you guys got together.” 

“Which means by the law of equivalent exchange, I will also be present when you and Jisung get together,” Seungmin says sagely. He catches the dirty dishcloth that Minho throws at him, and makes a face at him. “Go home and think about it, hyung. I’m sure Jisung will have a favourable answer for you.”

Minho frowns at the espresso machine, and prepares two more hot americanos. 

Slowly, he mulls over Seungmin’s words, thinks about what he's been told. Until now, he had continously tempered his hopes and expectations by comparing what Jisung did for him with what Jisung did for their other friends; he hadn't stopped to think about how much  _ more _ Jisung did for him, and in return, how much more he gave to Jisung.

Even so, that still left the question — was he Jisung's sugar baby, and nothing else? Their relationship had recently become physical, and he can't help the red flush that rises to the back of his neck when he remembers what happened between them. He thinks again, about that aspect of thir relationship.

With Jisung, everything was so much  _ more _ , and he had been willing to give and do things for Jisung. He had started out with the intention to repay Jisung's generosity in any way he could, but lately, that intention had changed to one of simply... want. He wanted Jisung to have nice things too, and whatever he could do, he would.

That extended to the embroidery and the scarf and now — this nondescript package sitting on his doorstep when he returns home that evening. He knows what's inside this package, and he picks it up hurriedly, taking it into his room with him.

Hurriefly, he sheds his coat and scarf, and starts to cut the packaging open. His hands tremble, even more so than when he bought the corset or the skirts. The items tumble out in a bundle, and Minho takes it upon himself to gently separate the things from their respective plastic bags, fingers thumbing slowly over the delicate fabric.

In his hands were a pair of stockings, garters, and some panties. He thinks his heart couldn't be any higher in his throat, not when he lays the silk of the stockings against his skin, and the satin white makes his legs look plush,  _ pretty _ . He doesn't even want to think about how the garters and panties will look on him, and there is only a brief rush of disappointment when he remembers how he decided not to buy a bralette.

_ Would... would Jisung even like this? _ The thought comes to him, but Minho tries not to think about it too much. He wants to surprise Jisung, and he can't afford to have any second thoughts.

As they had planned, Jisung invites Minho over that weekend, just to hangout and order takeaway together. Minho brings a bag with him — he always does, but this time it's with his pretty things carefully packed inside, and Jisung welcomes him like he always does by sweeping him into his arms and placing a kiss on the corner of his mouth.

"Make yourself comfortable, baby," Jisung says, gesturing vaguely at his apartment. "I'll get you something to drink."

"Not coffee!" Minho calls, because he's already had two cups today, and he would still like to sleep tonight. He sets his bag down in Jisung's bedroom, and steps back out into the living room, where Jisung has made some tea for him.

"It's citrus tea," Jisung explains. "I got it the other day from my  _ eomma _ , thought you might like it."

"Thank you," Minho says, Jisung's words warming his heart, and the citrus tea warming his chest.

They spend some time like that, catching up with each other, and when the conversation dies down, Jisung grabs his guitar, strumming over a little melody aimlessly as he tries to remember what Minho assumes are the chords to a certain song. It's a very familiar routine, and Minho sinks into the cushions opposite Jisung as the sounds of the guitar fill the air around them.

For a moment, Minho forgets about all his plans and worries. All his attention is captured by Jisung — Jisung's guitar, Jisung's soft voice singing along, Jisung's fingers pressing down on the strings with practiced movements.

It's so peaceful, and Minho wishes he wouldn't have to leave.

The evening settles, but the sun has long-dipped below the horizons since it's the middle of winter. Jisung puts his guitar away and takes their cups back to the kitchen; Minho stands up and goes to the bathroom as casually as he can. He's lucky that the only bathroom here is the one attached to the bedroom, so he's able to take his bag into the bathroom without Jisung seeing him.

Minho settles a hand over his chest to calm his rapidy beating heart, but his reflection betrays it anyway. His cheeks are flushed red, and his hands tremble when he goes to open his bag. Quickly, before he can lose his will to see this through, he sheds his clothes and tugs on the stockings slowly. The satin feels smooth over his skin, and he has to adjust his dick when he wears the matching panties, but — gods, he feels  _ pretty.  _

Swallowing, he buckles the garter belt around his waist and starts clipping it onto the stockings, which proves to be a bigger challenge than he had anticipated. He gets it, eventually, but he must have taken long enough in the bathroom for Jisung to become concerned, because a knock on the bathroom door startles him. 

“Baby, are you okay? You've been in there for a while?" 

"I'm fine!" Minho calls, and steels himself. He slides on a button up shirt he had stolen from Jisung, and rests his hand on the door handle. "Jisungie?" 

"Yeah?"

"You... don't laugh at me, okay?" 

"Why would I laugh at you? Are you okay..." Jisung's words die in his mouth when the door swings open. 

"I - I hope you like this," Minho murmurs, more nervous than he is shy. 

Jisung doesn't —  _ can't  _ speak. There are no words he can use, because Minho's wearing his clothes, which is usually enough to corrode his brain. But now, his eyes rake over the length of Minho's legs, covered by white satin, the tops of his thighs spilling over where the stockings end, the garters digging into his soft skin. They lead his eyes up to what's hidden underneath the long button up, and Jisung wants to — cry. Or something. 

"Fuck," Jisung groans, and he opens his arms for Minho to step into. "You look  _ gorgeous _ , darling. Why are you all dressed up, hmm?" 

"I... I wanted to surprise you," Minho mumbles, still too shy to look Jisung in the eyes. "Do you like it?" 

"Oh, did my baby dress up for me?" Jisung coos, and he slips a finger underneath one of Minho's garter straps, pulling at it. "I like it very much, baby, you look so pretty." He releases the strap so it thwacks at Minho's skin, and he grins when Minho shudders into him.

"I'm glad you like it," Minho returns, and the tips of his ears are red, hands balling in the front of Jisung's shirt. 

"I wonder what you want me to do, hmm?" Jisung starts, hands slowly moving over the expanse of Minho's body. "Did you wear this for me to look at you? I'll leave you in this all evening so I can have my fill... or maybe you wanted something else?" His hands ghost terribly close to the curve of Minho's ass, and he brings his mouth to trail over Minho's collarbones. 

Minho feels — so hot. It's been barely a minute since he stepped out dressed like this, but already Jisung is crowding him in, leaving nothing but fog in his head. 

"Want you," Minho finally answers, for lack of better words. "Want you to do... anything." 

"That won't do, baby," Jisung murmurs, hooking a finger under Minho's chin to tug him down so their eyes meet. "You have to tell me exactly what you want so I can give it to you."

"But - I want  _ you _ . Just… anything. You can do anything to me." 

"Calm down a little, darling," Jisung says soothingly, petting down Minho's back. "You can't just say that."

Minho glares at him, no heat and all want. "Yes, I can. I just did."

A smile pinches itself at the corner of Jisung's lips. "You're so cute, baby. How about you get yourself all nice and sitting on the bed, hmm? I'll join you in a second." 

Obedient, Minho extracts himself from Jisung's hold and goes to sit on the bed, scooting back until he meets the headboard. Jisung joins him just a second later, placing a bottle of lube on the nightstand. Unable to help himself, Minho finds his attention drawn to the bottle of lube. 

"Have you fingered yourself before?" Jisung asks, coming to sit on the bed as well. He taps Minho's knee, and Minho spreads his legs so Jisung can settle comfortably between them. 

"Sometimes, when I have enough time," Minho admits. "It's a bit… difficult." 

"You'll like what I'm gonna do then," Jisung says, smoothing his palms up against Minho's inner thighs. "You just need to sit back and look pretty, darling. You can do that for me, right?" 

"Mm, okay." 

Jisung tugs at Minho until he's lying on his back, and slides a pillow under his hips. Like this, with his legs propped up and spread wide, with Jisung running his palms up and down, Minho can't help but feel  _ exposed.  _ He resist the natural urge to close his legs, and instead keeps them where Jisung has placed him. For his obedience, Jisung gives him a kiss on his navel, and then he settles in between Minho's thighs, the bottle of lube somewhere to his right.

"Okay, honey?" Jisung checks, looking up briefly. 

"Yes — please, more," Minho murmurs. 

Jisung smiles into the skin of his thigh, trailing kisses from the inner corner of his knee, along the fabric of the stockings until he reaches his thigh. He takes one of the garter straps between his teeth, pulling at it then letting go of it so it snaps against Minho's skin. The pale red that immediately suffuses Minho's skin is pretty, but the broken whine that leaves Minho's mouth is even prettier. Intent on drawing more of these noises from him, Jisung starts sucking little bruises into the skin that's available for him to mark. 

Minho's whimpers increase in volume, but his legs stay open, and Jisung can feel his hips trembling, like he wants to buck up into Jisung's touch. Finally, he decides to relent and press a palm into Minho's panties, where it has become damp from pre-cum. 

“ _ Jisung _ !” Minho cries, hips finally bucking up as he grinds up into Jisung’s touch. 

“Baby,” Jisung says, breathless. Minho looks  _ good _ like this, all dressed up and needy for his touch, eyes scrunched close and chest heaving. Already, he’s so worked up without any proper touch, so Jisung seeks to remedy that. 

“I’ll leave you in these longer next time,” Jisung says, regretful as he unhooks the garter belt and unclips it from the stockings so he can slide Minho’s panties down. “Can I leave these on, baby?” He asks, tugging at the tops of Minho’s stockings. 

Minho nods, looking at him blearily. Jisung sets aside Minho’s lingerie carefully and returns to his seat in between Minho’s legs. He wraps a hand around Minho’s cock, already teased pink and leaking, and tugs at it a few times, thumbing at the head just a little too roughly. Minho keens under his touch, and Jisung’s blood runs hot — Minho  _ likes _ it when he’s just a bit cruel. 

Head spinning with this information, Jisung flicks open the bottle of lube with one hand. He takes his other hand off Minho’s cock to warm the lube up between his fingers, and as an apology he ducks down to take the head of Minho’s cock into his mouth, sucking at it. Minho bucks his hips at the wet warmth, moan breaking into two syllables; Jisung lets him, taking half of Minho’s length in his mouth as his lubed fingers press at Minho’s hole, rubbing at his rim. 

Taking his mouth off Minho’s cock for a moment, Jisung looks up to speak. “Baby, I want you to relax and be good, okay?”

“Okay, okay,” Minho returns, nodding frantically like he’s worried Jisung will leave if he doesn’t agree fast enough. 

“Good boy,” Jisung says, means it, and has the pleasure of watching Minho flush darkly.

Jisung takes Minho’s cock back in his mouth and sucks him down, gently pressing a finger into Minho as he does so. Minho is warm, and so receptive; he’s easy to open up, and Jisung takes his time petting his velvety walls, sliding another finger in and searching for what he knows will make Minho cry. Already, Minho’s cock is leaking pre-cum in his mouth, against his lips, and Jisung gathers it on his tongue, coming off Minho and leans up to kiss Minho, just because he can. 

Minho whines at the taste of his own pre-cum, but kisses Jisung anyway. He makes a sweet, confused little sound when Jisung pushes his knees back until they’re against his chest, telling him to hold them there. His confusion, however, is quickly fixed when Jisung buries his head in between his thighs and flattens his tongue against Minho’s rim.

“ _ Sungie _ ,” Minho whimpers, “I - I - you just —” 

Jisung nips gently against the sensitive skin of Minho’s inner thigh, and goes back to licking at Minho’s entrance, aiming to open him up. It’s easy to get Minho loose and worked open, and Jisung indulges in both the feeling of Minho’s walls around his fingers, as well as the noises Minho gives him, steadily becoming louder and louder.

He spreads Minho open with his fingers and licks in, sucking gently on the rim; this causes Minho’s hands to find their way into his hair and his thighs to clench around his head. Minho must be worked up, because as soon as Jisung finds his prostate, rubbing a few circles into it, Minho groans, canting his hips upwards.

"Jisung - Sung - Sung,  _ please _ ," Minho whines, tugging at Jisung's hair. "Wanna come, please, please, I want —" 

Jisung ignores him, continues to twist his fingers inside Minho, lapping gently at his rim. He's cruel too, jabbing constantly at his prostate until Minho's canting his hips up; in return, Jisung simply pushes him back down, pinning his hips in place as he rubs harshly into Minho's prostate. 

"Ji- _ sung _ ," Minho groans, feeling close to tears. "Please - please, let me — I want —" 

"Oh, go on then," Jisung murmurs, just barely discernible through Minho's loud whimpers. "Come for me, darling." He slides another finger in just as he says it, pressing insistently into Minho's prostate as his other hand works at the head of Minho's dick, thumbing over the slit.

Instantly, Minho comes, hot white crashing through his veins as he keens, clenching up around Jisung's fingers. Jisung doesn't even relent as he comes, continuing to work at his cock and hole until Minho's whining again, this time too oversensitive. At that, Jisung finally stops, taking his hand off Minho's cock; he wipes his fingers against Minho's rim just to hear him whine, and smiles pleased, with how Minho's spend has covered his chest. 

"Feel good, honey?" Jisung asks, coming down to press a gentle kiss against Minho's mouth. 

"The best," Minho murmurs, voice hoarse from his constant whining. "But you are — let me —"

They both scramble to get Jisung out of his sweatpants, but Minho barely yanks it down his thighs before he gets his hand wrapped around Jisung. It takes only a few passes of his hand over Jisung’s cock, squeezing at the base before Jisung is coming with a low moan, spilling white and hot all over Minho’s fist and torso.

For a while, they stay like that, bodies sticky but still pressing close to each other, catching their breaths. Jisung leaves sweet little kisses all over Minho’s face and neck, laving over where he had sucked bruises into Minho’s skin. The touch is so heartbreakingly tender that it brings unexpected tears to Minho’s eyes, and he can’t help the sniffles that he gives out. 

“Oh, darling, what’s wrong?” Jisung murmurs, fingers coming up to wipe away the tears before they can spill over onto his cheeks. “Overwhelmed?” 

Minho shakes his head, but he’s clutching onto Jisung, wanting as much of them to be pressed together. Jisung must have gotten the hint, because he rolls them over onto their sides until every inch of their fronts are skin to skin. Jisung moves his hand to stroke over Minho’s cheek gently, waiting for Minho to stop crying.

“Sorry,” Minho murmurs when he gets his bearings together again. 

“There’s nothing to be sorry about,” Jisung says softly, ducking close to press a kiss to the tip of Minho’s nose. “You wanna tell me what made my beautiful baby cry, hmm?” 

Jisung’s words bring fresh tears to Minho’s eyes again, but he keeps it in, starts to talk in stutters. “You… you keep using sweet words with me — and I… I don’t know what you mean by it.” He probably could have phrased it more clearly, but his head is foggy with coming down from the high of sex, and his bout of crying hasn’t helped. 

“What do you mean?” Jisung asks, and his touch has stilled on Minho’s cheek. 

Minho doesn’t want to think about what that might mean. “Ah… what — am I to you? You — I mean, my friends joke that I’m your sugar baby because you keep buying things for me,” Minho says, and he chokes out a little laughter as tears start sliding down his cheeks again, “and I didn’t want to delude myself, but you started calling me sweetly, even when you didn’t need to.” 

“Oh, darling,” Jisung murmurs, and Minho thinks he hears Jisung’s voice break, like he’s about to cry too. He pulls Minho closer until they’re tightly intertwined, and Minho thinks he feels his shoulder become wet; unable to help himself, he starts crying again too, even though he doesn’t quite know  _ why _ he’s crying. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t say it to you clearly,” Jisung says after a moment, voice hoarse and muffled into his shoulder. “I didn’t think about how — about how it might seem to you.” 

Now, it’s Minho’s turn to be confused. “What do you mean?” 

Jisung leans away from his shoulder, and despite his eyes that are rimmed slightly red, he smiles. “I bought all these things for you, thinking that you would understand my intentions. I only wanted to help you, in the beginning, but that changed quickly… I wanted to give you more, and I thought you would know that I liked you through my actions.” 

Minho gasps at that, but Jisung continues, his words spilling out like he can’t stop. 

“I’ve liked you since we met last year, but I could only support you from afar, I never thought I would meet you again. So - so when you needed things, I got them for you because it was something that I thought you would understand.” 

“Jisung,” Minho says gently, and he wipes away Jisung’s tears, mimicking what Jisung had done for him just a few minutes ago. “You gave me all these things, because…?” 

“Because I love you,” Jisung says, and he says it so surely, so  _ firmly _ that all of Minho’s doubts are instantly washed away. “I’m sorry that I could only show it to you in a way you didn’t understand… you’re so special to me, Minho. I hope you remember that.” 

Minho laughs too, a little wet, and leans in to kiss Jisung’s cheek, supple and soft. “Maybe we both didn’t meet the other. It was our other friends who pointed it out to me, otherwise I wouldn’t have picked up on it…” 

“Were you doing all these things for me, then?” Jisung asks, just a tiny hint of laughter in his voice. 

“Mm,” Minho agrees, no longer shy now that they’re already here. “You liked to see me in the things you bought for me, so I would take pictures. And I tried to help you do things, or give you things that you might like… I didn’t know if you would know, I only hoped.” 

“We’re both a little dumb, aren’t we?” Jisung says, smiles at Minho’s laugh. “Then — you love me too, right?” He adds, in a small voice, like he’s nervous. 

Minho’s smile softens, and he presses a chaste kiss to his mouth. “I do. I love you very much, Jisungie.”

* * *

In retrospect, it was probably good that Minho confessed before the new semester started. He becomes so busy during his second term with exam preparations that even his parents tell him to quit his part-time job and focus fully on his studies instead. He had worried about money then, but his parents reassured him, saying that they had enough money saved up. Jisung too, had quietly slipped him more money, and continued to take him out for meals and supplemented him with anything he wanted. 

And Jisung — oh, he’s so happy to have Jisung with him. 

He hadn’t been expecting to confess then, right after the high of sex, but he’s glad he did. It had cleared up the ambiguity of their relationship, and he gets to laugh when they tell their friends that they’re finally dating. But above all, he had been able to slowly come to understand how Jisung showed his affection. 

Coming from a wealthy family, Jisung had grown up understanding that gifts bought for him were a sign of love and affection — this simply meant that he expressed his own love by buying things for others. Minho wasn’t used to this, not when some of the gifts were lavish and  _ expensive. _

In return, Minho loved Jisung by doing things for him. The scarf he had knitted for Jisung is now worn everyday in this cold winter, a splash of vibrant red in the grey and white of the city. He cooks for Jisung when he gets the opportunity to, holds his hand the night before he has to go to a moot as he listens to Jisung's nervous rants, and lets Jisung take pictures of him when he's dressed up nicely. It even extends to the bedroom. 

Jisung, while delighting in how Minho would often simply follow his instructions when they were in bed, was still nervous and hesitant at the same time. 

“Are you sure I’m not forcing you or anything?” Jisung asked worriedly, a couple of months into their relationship. “You don’t always have to do everything I say, baby.” 

“I want to, and you know when I don’t want to,” Minho returns, kissing away Jisung’s frown. “I love you, sunshine.”

“I love you too, darling.” 

Yes, everything is — good. There is nothing more he could want or need, not with his friends and family and love by his side; his exams are coming up, and he’s pursuing an offer with a company that he had worked an internship in last year. If everything goes well, he’ll graduate with a job secured, and he won’t feel too much like he’s been thrown out into the world. 

With both him and Chan graduating this year, they would be leaving their current apartment with Changbin. It might have been sad, but they’re still going to live in the same city, and it’ll be Seungmin and Jeongin moving in with him for the next year. Minho’s already started searching for apartments that he can afford, and he’s thinking vaguely of moving in with a friend because of how high the prices are. 

He mentions this offhandedly one afternoon when he’s at Jisung’s apartment again. Jisung is playing the guitar softly as Minho talks, and the weather is finally warm enough for them to throw the windows open.

"The apartments in this area are more expensive… but if not I'll have to commute, and that will be tiring." Minho sighs a little, and wants to say that he'll worry about this another day when Jisung beats him to it.

“Move in with me.” 

Minho looks up in shock, phone almost slipping from his grasp. “What?” 

“Move in with me,” Jisung repeats, meaning every word that he says. “If you’re not opposed to it, let’s move in together.”

"But — what?"

"We can rent an apartment near your workplace. I won't need to go to campus so often next year so it's no problem for me to commute. If money's a problem, I can cover for you until your income is stable, and we —"

Jisung doesn't get to say anything else, because Minho picks his guitar up and sets it aside carefully before sinking onto Jisung's lap.

"Baby?" Jisung asks, laughing as his hands come to settle on Minho's hips. 

"Why," Minho asks fiercely, full of affection, "are you willing to do so much for me?" 

"Because," Jisung answers, and his answer seems to come so easily, "I love you, and I want you to understand that." He smiles, and brings Minho's head down until they're kissing. 

They meld into one another just like that, softly, sweetly, and when Minho kisses his boyfriend, he thinks this must be what it's like to be able to call love by their name. His hand is tangled with Jisung's, and he brushes through Jisung's hair gently with his other hand. Jisung leans into his touch, and the words come unbidden to his mouth, like candy.

"I love you," Minho murmurs, just loud enough for Jisung to discern. Jisung's hand tightens on his hips, and he's drawn in for another kiss.

After all, he doesn't need to say it so loudly — his whole world sits in front him, warm and loving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lyrics taken from NIve's [new light](https://genius.com/Genius-english-translations-nive-new-light-english-translation-lyrics/)
> 
> honestly, this has been a Journey to write. i scrapped several previous drafts and so i had to rush this fic which yknow is not a good thing pls dont rush and keep urselves healthy <3 and its my first time writing smut so .................. i apologise So Much if its not good hfdngdfh im just gonna [hide] okay bye 
> 
> this is... well i dont have much experience in sugar baby aus because its not my usual type of fic but i wanted to challenge myself this time and so ahh i hope this was somewhat satisfactory!! the "not-sugar-baby" au, if you will, since minho keeps insisting theyre not 
> 
> i really wanted this fic to be a study about love languages how they differ, but i think i had trouble with the fic overall so i apologise again if it didnt come out well >< it feels a little regretful to leave the fic like this because there were many avenues to explore, like the youtube channels, the side relationships, and their love languages to other people and not just each other. as it stood however, i was already behind schedule so i hope that it was still a good read ><
> 
> thank you so so much to the mods of minsung ficathon for organising this wonderful event, and to the prompter, i hope this wasn't too bad!!! i hope everyone is staying safe and healthy <33


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